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JAPAN AND JAPANESE-AMERICAN 
RELATIONS 



JAPAN AND JAPANESE-AMEEICAN 
EELATIONS 

CLAEK UNIVEESITY ADDRESSES 



EDITED BY 

GEORGE H. BLAKESLEE 

Professoi' of History, Clark University 



NEW YORK 

G. E. STECHERT AND COMPANY 
1912 






copyright 
Clark University 



COMPOSED AND PRINTED AT THE 

WAVERLY PRESS 

By the Williams & Wilkins Company 

Baltimore, U. S. A. 



'C!,A332759 



CONTENTS 

"^ I. Relations of Japan and the United States. David Starr 

Jordan, LL.D., President of Stanford University 1 

II. Japan Revisited after Thirty Years. Thomas C. Menden- 
hall, Sc.D., LL.D., late President of Worcester Polytech- 
nic Institute, formerly Professor in the Imperial Univer- 

I Z' sity, Tokyo 10 

C/Tll. The Japanese in America. J. Takamine, Sc.D., President of 
the Nippon Club of New York, formerly chemist to the 

Department of Agriculture and Commerce in Japan 22 

^ IV- The Family of Nations Idea and Japan. George Grafton 
Wilson, LL.D., Professor of International Law in Harvard 

University 32 

V. Geographical Environment and Japanese Character. 
Ellsworth Huntington, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of 

Geography in Yale University 42 

VI. Some op the Contributions of Feudal Japan to the New 
Japan. K. Asakawa, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Japan- 
ese Civilization in Yale University 68 

VII. The Secret of Japanese Success. Garrett Droppers, Pro- 
fessor of Political Economy in Williams College, formerly 

Professor in the Imperial University, Tokyo 100 

VIII. The Progress of Japanese Industry. Hon. William C. 

Redfield, Member of Congress 115 

EX. The Foreign Trade of Japan. R. Ichinomiya, Manager of 

the New York Branch of the Yokohama Specie Bank 126 

X. Medicine in Japan: Its Development and Present Sta- 
tus. John C. Berry, M.D., formerly Medical Director 

of Doshisha University Hospital, Kyoto 136 

XI. The New Japan. Arthur Judson Brown, D.D., Secretary of 

the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions 161 

XII. The Modern Japanese Christian Church. George M. 
Rowland, D.D., for twenty-five years a Missionary of the 

American Board in Japan 174 

XIII. Some Results of Christian Work in Japan. Charles M. 
Warren, for twelve years a missionary of the American 

Board in Japan 190 

XrV. A Literary Legend: "The Oriental." Wm. Elliot Griffis, 
D.D., L.H.D., Educational Pioneer in Japan, formerly 

of the Imperial University, Tokyo 204 

XV. The Cities of Japan. Hon. Harvey N. Shepard 209 

"'^'^iXVI. The Evolution of Japanese Diplomacy. M.Honda, Litt.D., 

Editor of the Oriental Review 221 

V 



VI 



CONTENTS 



^ XVII. Japan as a Colonizer. Inazo Nitobe, Ph.D . , President of the 
First National College, Tokyo, formerly Director of the 
Bureau of Industries in the Government of Formosa 234 

^ XVIII. Japan in South Manchuria. T. lyenaga, Ph.D., Profes- 
sorial Lecturer in Political Science, University of Chicago 249 
^ XIX. Japan's Annexation of Korea. T. lyenaga, Ph.D., Pro- 
fessorial Lecturer in Political Science, University of 

Chicago 275 

XX. The Future of the Japanese in Hawaii. Theodore Rich- 
ards, M.A., Managing Editor of The Friend, Honolulu . . . 298 

^'^ XXI. Japanese-American Relations as Affecting the Control 
OP the Pacific. Edwin Maxey, D.C.L., LL.D., Pro- 
fessor of Public Law and Diplomacy in the University of 

Nebraska 323 

XXII. Japan, America, and the Chinese Revolution. Frederick 

McCormick, Special Correspondent, Peking, China 337 



INTRODUCTION 

Japan and the United States are at present the two fore- 
most powers of the Pacific, and their international relations 
form one of the most vital factors in the diplomacy of that 
ocean. Other nations may later challenge this paramount 
position. China, if successfully reorganized, will do so in 
the near future; Austraha, New Zealand and British Colum- 
bia may, after some decades, make the British Empire as 
powerful in the Pacific as it is now in the Atlantic and the 
Indian oceans; while Russia may eventually develop Siberia 
and extend its conquests in the Far East until it will rival 
the leaders of today. At present, however, the supremacy of 
Japan and the United States can hardly be questioned. 
They are the Pacific powers not because of distant conquests 
in that ocean, which in time, as Asia develops in strength, 
must be abandoned, but because their own territory, inhab- 
ited by their own people, is situated there. The home land 
of both is on the Pacific. 

Both are young powers in the modern sense. A little 
over a half century ago the United States did not possess a 
single foot of undisputed territory on the Pacific Ocean; today 
it has a greater coasthne than any other nation. Less than 
a half century ago Japan was a weak, feudalized state with 
a civilization much resembling that of Europe in the middle 
ages. Its recent progress, the accomplishment in fifty 
years of the advance which it took Europe five hundred 
years to make, is probably the most remarkable national 
achievement in history. So well did Japan learn its lessons 
in western civilization that today, in proportion to its 
resources, it has probably the most efficient governmental 
organization in the world. 

The relations between these two great Pacific powers 
has always been intimate and, in the main, one of almost 
romantic friendship. In all Japan there is but one monu- 
ment to a foreigner, and that is to an American. It marks the 



VIII INTRODUCTION 

spot where Commodore Perry first landed, the place, to use 
the language of the Japanese dedication, ''on which the 
modern civilization of our Japanese Empire had its begin- 
ning." In the years immediately following this opening of 
the country, Americans were the ones who exerted the most 
powerful influence in helping to develop a new civilization in 
accord with the standards of western nations. Americans, 
more than others, brought modern schools, modern medicine 
and the ideals of Christianity; they were themselves the 
first modern school teachers and physicians. A large pro- 
portion of the leaders of present-day Japan studied under 
them; while hundreds of other Japanese students completed 
their education in the schools and universities of the United 
States. 

In more recent times mutual international courtesies 
have been marked. The United States led the way in the 
movement to abolish extraterritorial jurisdiction in Japan, 
and to admit the Empire as a real equal into the family of 
nations. Probably no people gave Japan a stronger or 
more enthusiastic moral support during its war with Russia. 
On the other hand, Japan removed the causes of friction 
over the immigration question by itself forbidding its laborers 
to enter the United States; and when the American govern- 
ment negotiated the compulsory arbitration treaty with 
Great Britain, modified the terms of its aUiance with that 
country to ob\date even the suspicion of danger that Great 
Britain might be involved in war with the United States on 
account of its connection with Japan. 

In material respects, also, such as trade, the relations have 
been close. Japan has bought much from the United States, 
especially equipment for its new raihoads. The value of 
these American imports into Japan is still increasing rapidly; 
the United States is now selHng nearly 100 per cent more than 
it did even two or three years ago. This country, too, is 
Japan's best customer, and buys from it more than any 
other, more even than the entire continent of Europe. 
Further, the export of silk is regarded by many as the foun- 
dation of Japan's foreign trade; and of this, over one-half is 
purchased by the United States. 



INTRODUCTION IX 

Commercial intercourse will be increased still further by 
the opening of the Panama Canal, which will not only 
bring Japan into direct communication with the Atlantic 
and Gulf sections of this country, but will make Japanese 
harbors the ports of call for all American ships passing 
through the canal in trade with China. 

Notwithstanding these intimate ties of friendship and of 
commerce there arose, soon after the close of the Russian 
war, a spirit of suspicion and even hostility between certain 
elements in the population of both the United States and 
Japan. The immigration question was perhaps the occasion 
of it; but it was increased by opposition in this country 
to Japan's poUcy and administration in Manchuria and 
Korea. The fundamental cause was very probably the 
sudden awakening of the United States to the fact that 
Japan was no longer a mere picturesque land of Orientals 
which it could patronize at will; but was a powerful, proud 
nation, jealous of its rights and of its new-found position as 
a world power. 

This period of friction, which might easily have passed 
without any serious result, was continued by the efforts of 
the jingo elements in both lands. The United States was 
the chief offender; a section of the press, together with cer- 
tain politicians, insisted that Japan was secretly planning 
to wage war against this country. Some of the American 
papers pubHshed no news from the Far East unless it 
reflected in some way upon the Japanese government or 
people, and definitely instructed their reporters to send only 
accounts unfriendly to Japan. War scares appeared at 
periods suspiciously convenient for the advocates of an 
increased American army and navy. So evident were these 
attempts to arouse mutual suspicion that President Taft 
declared: "When one considers the real feelings of the two 
peoples as a whole, when one considers the situation from 
the standpoint of sanity and real patriotism in each country, 
it is difficult to characterize in pohte or moderate language 
the conduct of those who are attempting to promote 
misunderstanding and ill-feeling between the two coun- 
tries." 



X INTRODUCTION 

This anti-Japanese propaganda has without doubt done 
a certain amount of harm, although it has failed to turn 
the thinking part of America from its feeling of friendship 
and admh'ation for the people of Japan. 

Especially in view of the danger from such campaigns of 
international slander as this, it is absolutely necessary for 
the various countries to correctly understand each other. 
To bring this about, no agency is better fitted than the uni- 
versity, whose purpose in every field of knowledge is, first, 
to search for the real truth with an impartial mind; and, 
second, to do its part in disseminating this truth in the com- 
munity at large. This has been one of the principal aims of 
Clark University in founding its annual conference upon 
international problems, and in publishing its Journal of 
Race Development. Subjects connected with Japan were 
presented at the conference of a year ago, where twenty- 
eight experts, twenty-one Americans and seven Japanese, 
gave addresses or papers on almost every aspect of Japan's 
national life and of the relations between Japan and the 
United States. Nearly all of these articles have already 
appeared in the Journal of Race Development, but, in response 
to an urgent request, the University is now repubhshing 
them in book form. Each of the present chapters deals 
with a distinct topic; together they cover progressively the 
field of what is both most interesting and most vital in the 
present national and international situation of Japan. 

In bringing together these various papers, the Depart- 
ment wishes to express to each of the authors its grateful 
appreciation of his kind cooperation. It is, however, under 
an especial obhgation to Dr. M. Honda, the Editor of the 
Oriental Review, for constant assistance in arranging the 
program of the conference upon Japan. 

It is our sincere wish that this volume may be of service 
in making the acts and motives of the Japanese government, 
as well as the Japanese people themselves, somewhat better 
understood in this country. There is nothing mysterious 
about them. Their conduct is perfectly intelligible; it is 
much what our own would be under similar circumstances. 
That both nations will always take the same view of every 



INTRODUCTION XI 

international question, is hardly to be expected; yet an essen- 
tial preliminary for a peaceful adjustment, when difficulties 
do arise, and a necessity for the continuance of mutual 
friendship, is — just as between individuals — a correct and 
sympathetic appreciation of each other's standpoint and of 
the best in each other's character. 

G. H. Blakeslee. 

Clark University, 
Worcester, Mass., 
December 20, 1912. 



RELATIONS OF JAPAN AND THE UNITED STATES 

By David Starr Jordan, LL.D., President of Stanford 
University 

It is now nearly sixty years since the modern history of 
Japan began. The arrival of Commodore Perry at Kuri- 
hama, the downfall of the Shogun and the restoration of 
the Mikado mark the point of transition from feudal Japan 
to the Japan of today. 

In all this period, the Japanese nation has been the sub- 
ject of intense interest to the cultivated people of America 
and a warm sympathy has arisen between those people of 
each nation who have come to understand the character 
and the ideals of the other. This sympathy has been kept 
alive by the influence of Japanese students in America on 
the one hand, and on the other by the interest of those who 
have gone as missionaries, as teachers or advisors in the 
affairs of Japan. 

In Asia, there has existed for many years, a division of the 
non-Japanese into two sharply defined parties or one may 
say, attitudes of mind, thepro-Japaneseandthe anti-Japanese. 
The disputes of these two types of people have not come to 
our notice until very lately. Till within the last decade, 
American influence was almost wholly ranged with the pro- 
Japanese. Contributory to this fact was our general tend- 
ency toward sympathetic interest in a nation which rose 
to constitutional government through influences from within. 
The Shimonoseki incident, the visit of General Grant, the 
aid of the United States in setting aside the obnoxious con- 
sular jurisdiction in the treaty ports, all these became expres- 
sions of the friendly attitude of America. 

The Japanese question, as it is now called, first rose to 
the horizon in 1899, the year of the abrogation of consular 
jurisdiction. 

The need of cheap labor on the sugar plantations of 
Hawaii was great and constant. Kalakaua, the king, had 

1 



2 DAVID STARR JORDAN 

tried to meet this need by ''blackbirding" expeditions 
among the islands of Polynesia. The steamship companies 
followed by strenuous efforts among the laborers in the 
rice fields of the region about the inland Sea of Japan, the 
districts of Okayama, Hiroshima and Yamaguchi. By 
their insistence and by offers of real wages their emigration 
agencies brought to Hawaii many men from the lowest 
stratum in Japanese life, next to the criminal and the out- 
cast — the unskilled and homeless laborers in the rice fields. 
These have been called coolies, but their position in Japan 
was quite different from that of the coohes or half slaves 
of the continent of Asia. 

These laborers were treated essentially as slaves in Hawaii. 
They carried with them none of the culture of Japan, they 
received none in their new homes. They did not go as colon- 
ists. The Japanese with homes do not willingly leave these 
homes where ''their own customs fit them like a garment," 
to form new ones in another region. The Japanese are not 
spontaneously colonists. They will go to other lands for 
study or for trade or for higher wages. But they go with 
the hope to return. The coohes went to Hawaii solely 
under the incentive of higher wages. 

When Hawaii was annexed to the United States, the 
shackles of their slavery were thrown off, and the same im- 
pulse of higher wages carried them on to San Francisco, 
Seattle and Vancouver. 

In 1899, Mr. W. W. Scott of Honolulu, a former resident 
of Japan, warned the Japanese authorities of the dangers 
involved in this movement of Japanese laborers to Cali- 
fornia. Their lower standard of living and of wages would 
make them exploitable. This would bring them in conflict 
with labor unions. Economic clash would beget race pre- 
judice, and Japan could not afford to be judged by her least 
attractive and least efficient representatives. Influenced 
by these and similar considerations the Japanese govern- 
ment in 1899, refused passports to all unskilled laborers, 
and since that time none have come from Japan direct to 
the Pacific States. 

But in response to the continuous demand of Hawaii 



RELATIONS OF JAPAN AND THE UNITED STATES 6 

they were for a time allowed to go there. Japanese people 
already constituted the great majority of the population of 
these islands. Even after passports were refused to laborers 
going to Hawaii, the immigration of coolies from Hawaii 
to San Francisco still continued. 

There was and is a very great demand for Japanese help 
among the orchardists of California. No other labor 
has been adequate and available and it is not easy to see 
what the fruit interests are to do without Japanese help. 
In this work, the European laborer has scarcely entered into 
competition and the prices paid the Japanese are not less than 
the wages of American labor in the same lines. The demand 
for Japanese workers in household service and in canning 
establishments has also been great and unsatisfied. 

From the fisheries which the Japanese have almost monop- 
olized in British Columbia and in Hawaii, they have been 
virtually excluded by statutes limiting the fisheries of Cali- 
fornia, Oregon and Washington to citizens of these States. 
Unless born in the United States the Japanese cannot 
become citizens. 

A large portion of the Japanese laborers avoided the or- 
chards and established themselves in the cities where, as 
laundrymen, restaurant keepers, draymen, carpenters and 
the like, they entered thus into competition with the Amer- 
can laborers, the most of whom in San Francisco were recent 
immigrants from Europe. 

Their lower scale of living and their peculiarities in other 
ways soon brought them under the condemnation of the trade 
unions. Anti-Japanese societies were formed and much 
effort was spent to the end of the exclusion of Japanese and 
Korean laborers as the Chinese had already been excluded. 
The personal violence which accompanied the anti-Chinese 
campaign of twenty years before was practically absent from 
this. The Japanese were better able to take care of them- 
selves and also, in spite of much reckless talk and exaggera- 
tion of language, there was very little real enmity toward 
the Japanese with any class of their opponents. Most of 
the unfriendly talk was for political purposes and the main 
cause of opposition was economic. 



4 DAVID STARE JORDAN 

An exclusion act like that directed against the Chinese 
could not be considered by our government. It would be 
a needless affront to a friendly nation, and a nation wilhng 
to do anything we may desire, provided it could be done 
with dignity. The Chinese exclusion act finds its excuse 
perhaps in the fact that China is not yet a nation. No 
absolute monarchy can be a nation, in the proper sense. 
When China finds herself at last, this exclusion act must 
wholly change its form. 

In this condition of affairs, a definite agreement was made 
with the Katsura ministry of Japan, that no passports for 
America were to be issued to Japanese laborers, that the 
responsibility for discrimination should rest with Japan, 
and that all holders of Japanese passports should be admitted 
without question. This agreement has been loyally and 
rigidly kept by Japan. A bit too rigidly perhaps, for it 
is growing increasingly difficult for Japanese students to 
come to America. The diffusion among our American 
universities of Japanese students, eager, devoted and per- 
sistent has been one of the most important factors in main- 
taining the mutual good will and good understanding of 
the two nations. For everywhere these Japanese graduates 
of American universities give a good account of themselves 
standing high in the estimation of their people at home, 
while retaining a keen interest and intelUgent sympathy in 
all American affairs. 

The present settlement of the immigration question is 
the very best possible, so long as restriction of any sort is 
regarded as necessary. It is in the interest of both nations 
and of all concerned, and the occasional efforts to super- 
sede it by a general "oriental exclusion" bill are prompted 
by no consideration of the pubHc weffare. 

To be grouped with the inchoate nations of Asia as 
''orientals" is particularly offensive to the proud, self- 
governing Japanese. In their thoughts and ambitions, 
in their attitude towards peace and justice and toward 
modern civilization the Japanese are in full harmony with 
the nations of Europe. It is their mission to bring modern 
civilization to Asia. This they are Hterally doing in Korea 



RELATIONS OF JAPAN AND THE UNITED STATES 5 

one of the most interesting experiments in the reclamation 
of a dying nation undertaken in modern times, compar- 
able to om* sanitation of the Canal Zone of Panama. At 
the same time, the hold of Japan on Korea, like our hold 
on Panama, rests on an act of arbitrary seizure. 

The main justification of the exclusion of Japanese un- 
skilled laborers must be found in the economic conditions 
on the two sides of the Pacific. It is our theory in America 
that there should be no permanent class of unskilled laborers, 
and that it is each man's duty as well as his right to rise 
to his highest possibility. 

In most other nations, a permanent lowest class which 
must work for the lowest wages and do the menial service 
of society is taken for granted. This theory is affirmed 
in the Chinese proverb. "Big fish eat little fish, little fish 
eat shrimp: shrimp eat mud." It is no part of our policy 
that shrimps should remain shrimps forever. Cheap labor 
is exploitable to the injury of labor of a higher grade. There 
in then justice in the contention for the exclusion of the 
cheapest and most exploitable type of laborers whatever 
their race or the country from which they come. 

There is also legitimate ground for fear that a wide open 
door from Asia would crowd our Pacific coast before the 
natural population of America has found its way there. 
Such a condition would add to the economic wealth of the 
coast at the expense of social and poUtical confusion. 

Many honest men fear the advent of large numbers of 
Japanese as likely to provoke racial troubles similar to those 
which exist in the South. I do not share this opinion. No 
race is more readily at home in our civihzation than the 
cultivated Japanese. That the rice-field coolie does not 
assimilate is mainly because of his crude mentality and his 
lack of any training either Japanese or American. This 
is broadly true, though among these people are many of 
fine instincts and marked capacity. The condition of mutual 
help and mutual tolerance in Hawaii shows that men of 
a dozen races can get along together if they try to do so. 
The problem of the South is the problem of slavery; the 
problem of the half-white, the man with the diverging 



6 DAVID STARR JORDAN 

instincts of two races, this status changed in an instant, 
by force, from the position of a chattel to that of a citizen. 
It is the problem of the half-white man given political 
equality when social equality is as far away as ever. No bar 
sinister of this sort nor of any other kind separates the 
European from the Japanese. 

Social reasons for exclusion have a certain value. The 
Japanese are the most lovable of people, which fact makes 
them the most clannish. They have the faults of their 
virtues, and the uneducated Japanese sometime show these 
faults in unpleasant fashion. 

There are still more urgent reasons why the Japanese 
themselves should insist on exclusion of their coolie laborers 
from Canada and the United States. The nation cannot 
afford to have America know it by its least creditable exam- 
ples. A hundred Japanese rice-field hands are seen in 
America, to one Japanese gentleman. Thousands of men 
who never knew a Japanese merchant or artist or scholar 
have come in contact with Japanese draymen or laundry- 
men. They have not always found these good neighbors. 
The present conditions are not permanent, perhaps, but as 
matters are today it is to the interest of Japan, even more 
than to the interest of California that the present agreements 
should be maintained. 

Just after the Russian war, when America's sympathy 
was almost wholly on the side of Japan because the attitude 
of Russia was beheved to be that of wanton aggression, a 
series of anti-Japanese articles were published in various 
American newspapers. Who wrote these articles and who 
paid for them I do not know, but their various half-truths 
and falsehoods had an unfavorable effect on American public 
opinion. 

The school affair in San Francisco was also unfortunate, 
although in itself of no significance whatever. In the great 
fire of 1906, the Chinatown of San Francisco was entirely de- 
stroyed. After the fire a temporary school house was estab- 
hshed in the neighborhood. There vc ere no Chinese children 
in this school and the teacher, perhaps fearing loss of posi- 
tion, asked the school board to send the Japanese children 



RELATIONS OF JAPAN AND THE UNITED STATES 7 

in the neighboring region to her. The school board appar- 
ently ignorant of possible international results formed of 
this an ^'Oriental School. " There were no Chinese children 
concerned nor is it clear that Japanese children would have 
suffered even had such been present. 

Under our treaty with Japan our schools as every other 
privilege were open to Japanese subjects on the basis of 
'Hhe most favored nation." To send Japanese children to 
an ''Oriental School" was probably a violation of this 
clause of the treaty. It is not certain that this was a viola- 
tion but it appears as such on the surface. So far as I know, 
there has been no judicial decision involving this point. 
In any case, the remedy lay apparently in an injunction 
suit, and in a quiet determination of the point at issue. It 
was a mistake, I believe, to make it a matter of international ' 
diplomacy. Neither the nation nor the State of California' 
has the shghtest control over the schools of San Francisco,'' 
unless an action of the school board shall traverse a national 
or State law or violate a treaty. A treaty has precedence 
over all local statutes. But the meaning of a treaty can be 
demonstrated only through judicial process. 

The extravagance of the press m both nations stirred 
up all the latest partisanship in both races involved. On 
the one hand the injuries to the Japanese children were 
grossly exaggerated. On the other hand, gratuitous slan- 
ders were invented to justify the action of the school board. 
This action was finally rescinded at the request of the Presi- 
dent of the United States who uttered at the same time a 
sharp reprimand to the people of California. This again 
was resented by the State, as only five of its citizens were 
responsible for the act in question, and the people of the , 
State as a whole had no part whatever in anti-Japanese ' 
agitation nor any sympathy with the men temporarily in 
control of affairs in San Francisco. The net result of the ■: 
whole affair was to alienate sympathy from Japan. This 
again was unfair for the Japanese nation as a whole had nr 
responsibiUty for what, at the worst, was an error of 
judgment on the part of a few of its immigrants. 



8 DAVID STAER JORDAN 

Since this affair was settled I have not heard a word as 
to the relation of the Japanese to the schools of San Francisco, 
and, I presume, that this difficulty, like most others has 
disappeared with time and patience and mutual considera- 
tion. It is not likely to be heard from again. 

Only a word need be said of other matters which have 
vexed the international air. War scares are heard the world 
over. The world over they are set going by wicked men 
for evil purposes. In general the design of purveyors of 
international slanders is to promote orders for guns, powder 
and warships. There are other mischief makers, who hope 
to fish m troubled waters. 

A few years ago it was suggested in America that the Man- 
churian railways, built on Chinese territory, by the govern- 
ments of Russia and Japan should be sold to China. To 
this end China should borrow the money of an interna- 
tional syndicate under whose authority the railways should 
be managed. This line of action was for various reasons 
impossible to China. The suggestion itself was very unwel- 
come to the Japan authorities as well as to the Japanese 
people to whom the leased land between Port Arthur and 
Mukden is hallowed ground, holding the graves of a hundred 
and thirty thousand of the young men of Japan. The sug- 
gestion itself was personal only. It was never acted upon, 
never approved by the American people and no official action 
was ever based upon it, and it should not be a subject of 
worry to either Russia or Japan. 

The fur seal question has been under discussion for more 
than twenty years, ever since the wanton kilhng of females 
at sea first threatened the destruction of the Bering Sea 
herds. By the pelagic seahng of Canada the number of 
breeding seals in the Pribilof herd was reduced from about 
1,000,000 to about 180,000. The entrance of Japan into 
Bering Sea, disregarding the regulations of the Paris tribunal 
for the protection of the herd, inadequate as these were, 
soon reduced these numbers to about 30,000. Last year, a 
treaty was concluded, Russia, Japan, Canada and the United 
States being parties to it, by which the matter was honorably 
and justly settled and the continuance and restoration of the 



RELATIONS OF JAPAN AND THE UNITED STATES 9 

three herds, American, Russian, and Japanese finally assured. 
There is not now a single cloud above the official horizon 
as between the United States and Japan. There have never 
been any real difficulties and the apparent ones are no 
greater than must appear wherever great nations border on 
each other. As the Japanese are fond of saying: The Paci- 
fic Ocean unites our nations. It does not separate. 

War talk on either side is foolish and criminal. Japan 
recognizes the United States as her nearest neighbor among 
western nations, her best customer and most steadfast 
friend. Her own ambitions and interests He in the restora- 
of Korea, the safeguarding of her investments in Manchuria 
and in the part she must play in the unforetold future of 
China. For her own affairs she needs every yen she can 
raise by any means for the next half century. For the future 
greatness of Japan depends on the return of "the old peace 
with velvet sandalled feet," which made her the nation 
she is today. 

War and war demands have made her, for the time being, 
relatively weak, she who once was strong in her spirit of pro- 
gress, her freedom from debt and in the high ambition of 
her people. Thirteen hundred milhons of dollars in war 
debt is a burden not lightly carried. Through peace and 
through peace alone Japan will regain her strength, and 
none know this better than the men of the wise and patriotic 
group who now control Japan. 



JAPAN REVISITED AFTER THIRTY YEARS 

By Thomas C. Mendenhall, Sc.D., LL.D., late President of 

Worcester Polytechnic Institute, formerly Professor 

in the Imperial University, Tokyo 

In 1881 I left Japan after having enjoyed several delight- 
ful years of residence there, under conditions favorable to 
the acquisition of a fairly good knowledge of the character, 
disposition and spirit of the Japanese people. While at 
that time nearly all foreigners, including missionaries as 
well as those engaged in trade or commerce, were restricted 
as to their residence to localities set apart for them by the 
government, exception was made in favor of foreign profes- 
sors employed in the University who were practically free 
to live and travel where they liked. 

In 1911 I returned to Japan for a stay of nearly three 
months, during every hour of which I was busy in the dis- 
covery of evidences of the wonderful transformation that 
these thirty years have wrought. 

Curiously, yet naturally it was not the tall chimneys, the 
extensive manufacturing establishments, or the big steam- 
ships carrying the flag of Japan that first attracted attention 
and drew forth exclamations of surprise. One was prepared 
for that sort of thing, by personal knowledge of small begin- 
nings long ago, by uninterrupted correspondence with Jap- 
anese friends, and by any one of the scores of books about 
Japan that have been printed in the past decade, many of 
the authors of which have, apparently, seen Uttle else. It 
was the comparatively trivial, especially the things not seen, 
that caused wonder on first going ashore at Nagasaki. What 
had become of the ''queue," the "top-knot" or small tuft 
of tied-up hair that partially covered the shaven top of 
every Japanese head? Gone, absolutely! Not one was to 
be seen in Nagasaki, Osaka, Kyoto, Tokyo or other city, 
except on the head of an actor and then it was soon dis- 

10 



JAPAN REVISITED AFTER THIRTY YEARS 11 

covered to be part of a wig. In the country one or two were 
found, the insignia of ultra-conservatism! The absence of 
the queue was made up for by the presence of the hat on the 
head of nearly every man and boy, where formerly the habit 
of hat-wearing was so rare that hats were constantly being 
found where last deposited by the owners, who had gone off 
without ever '^ missing" them. Shoes of the western model 
have become nearly as necessary a part of a man's dress as 
the western hat and the number of men who clothe them- 
selves completely after the western fashion is now so great 
that they have long since ceased to attract special attention. 
Few things in Japan have been so fixed and unalterable as 
the fashion in woman's dress. While the material of which 
it is composed may range from the poor and cheap to the 
rich, costly and exquisitely beautiful, the "model" has been 
practically the same for centuries. But even in this a very 
considerable change has somehow been brought about and 
it is especially noticeable in the style of hair dressing now 
all but universal among Japanese ladies. The new style 
is vastly less complicated and difficult, and hence less costly 
than the old. It is not very unlike some of the fashions 
recently in vogue among the western people and to the gen- 
eral European taste is more artistic and beautiful than the 
elaborate coiffure which so long prevailed. There are many 
indications of a tendency to change other long established 
features of the costume of Japanese women and it does not 
seem rash to predict the abolition of the Ohi, the tremen- 
dously large, heavy and often very expensive girdle, with 
its enormous "bow" in the back with which a Japanese lady 
encircles her waist and which, in the eyes of most foreigners 
detracts so much from the grace of her movements. To 
abandon this classic feature of woman's dress at once would 
be little short of a revolution, but already it has disappeared 
from the authorized and generally prescribed outfit of young 
women and girls at school who now dress in a very attractive 
style, uniform in model with charming variations in color 
according to the taste of the wearer. Twenty-five and thirty 
years ago there was a pronounced leaning towards European 
models of dress among Japanese ladies which now, happily, 



12 THOMAS C. MENDENHALL 

seems to have quite disappeared. At present this fashion 
is so rare among them that while a man may travel about the 
country in European dress without causing the slightest 
remark, a woman clothed as she would be in Europe or 
America is inmiediately surrounded by a horde of the 
curious of both sexes and all ages, to whom her dress is a 
great novelty. 

In contrast with the condition of thirty years ago the 
quantity and variety of foreign goods of all kinds offered 
for sale in the shops have enormously increased. ''Made in 
Germany" is to be read on countless articles in every Jap- 
anese city and town and the market for even some of the 
widely known specialties of Japan has been invaded at home 
by foreign competitors, and this in spite of the very high 
import duty that prevails. In porcelain for ordinary use 
the German combination of cheapness and fairly good qual- 
ity has led to pretty large importations. One may search 
in vain in the shops of today for many articles of domestic 
use and ornament which a generation ago might be found 
everywhere but which have now disappeared, in many 
instances because in these things the skilful hand and artis- 
tic eye can no longer compete with machinery in the pro- 
duction of articles perhaps less beautiful, but really more 
useful and satisfactory. Occasionally one discovers that a 
once highly valued and profitable business or profession 
has been completely wiped out. Thirty years ago the beau- 
tiful metallic mirrors then universally in use among the 
Japanese could be bought on every street. Mirror casting, 
grinding and polishing was an art demanding much skill 
and mirror making was a business that had descended from 
father to son for many generations. But the superiority of 
the silvered glass mirror was immediately recognized and 
now one may search in vain in all the great cities for a shop 
in which metallic mirrors are offered for sale and the guild 
of mirror makers is extinct. The metal mirror is one of 
the ''Sacred treasures" of Japan and is always to be found 
in a place of distinction in Shinto and also in many Buddhist 
temples. When I asked where were the men who repolished 
these temple mirrors and supplied new ones when required, 



JAPAN REVISITED AFTER THIRTY YEARS 13 

the completeness of the extinction of the profession of mirror 
making was impressed upon me by the reply that what little 
there was to be done in that line in these days had been rele- 
gated to the umbrella menders! 

Attention was soon drawn to the increase in the consump- 
tion of foreign foodstuffs or rather of foods that were entirely 
foreign to the Japanese menu of thirty years ago, such as 
milk, butter, beef, and even cheese. European forms of 
cakes and confectionery are imitated and, although much 
sought after, not a single example of the Japanese Compato, 
a favorite confection of former years, could be found. 

Such examples of changes in social customs or domestic 
habits might be multiplied indefinitely, though to many they 
will appear of minor importance and perhaps too much space 
has already been given them. By the thoughtful student of 
the evolution of the Japanese, however, they will not seem to be 
trivial for they point clearly to that most remarkable char- 
acteristic of the people, a facility for readjustment of both 
external and internal relations, whenever a better adapta- 
tion to their environment is secured thereby. "What nation 
in all the history of the world has shown a larger wisdom in 
the treatment of important domestic affairs than have the 
Japanese in their management of the perplexing problems 
of national costume? Immediately after the wars of the 
restoration the superior advantages of the modern uniform 
for soldiers was recognized and it was promptly adopted 
by the new regime. As soon as the educated men of the 
nation began to engage in various professional and business 
occupations the great advantage of western costume over 
the old for such occupations became evident and its use is 
rapidly becoming universal. On the other hand the unheal th- 
fulness, the costly fickleness and (a Japanese would add) the 
indecency of modern European dress for women, has been 
proved by observation and experiment and it is practically 
rejected by all save the few whose attendance at court or 
residence abroad makes them unwilling victims. It will 
be generally conceded that the dress worn by women in 
Japan is infinitely more ''becoming" to them than the models 
of Paris ; it is infinitely less harmful to the health of the wearer 



14 THOMAS C. MENDENHALL 

and from an economic standpoint has the enormous advan- 
tage of a practically invariable style. Every garment may 
be worn until it has done full service and yet there is ample 
room for display of taste and individual preference through 
variation in color and character or quality of the material 
used. 

Of the bigger and greater transformations in Japan and 
especially in Japanese cities so much has been said and writ- 
ten that it is not worth while in this place to attempt any 
catalogue or detailed description of them though it ought 
to be said that only those who are familiar with former con- 
ditions can appreciate their magnitude. In the large cities 
and particularly in the capital, much has been done to mod- 
ernize and adapt the streets and principal buildings to the 
requirements of the new life. Thousands of houses have 
been bought or confiscated and destroyed to make beauti- 
fully straight and well graded streets from sixty to one hun- 
dred feet in width, with twenty or thirty-foot sidewalks, 
where, before, two narrow carts might have difficulty in 
passing, and sidewalks for foot passengers were absolutely 
unknown. 

Electric tramways go in all directions and (I am speaking 
of the capital) some of the tracks are elevated above the 
street as in many American cities. These modern methods 
of transportation have been well-nigh fatal to the picturesque 
jinrikisha with its swift and graceful runner, for in spite of 
the very considerable increase in the population along with 
an enormous increase in the business activity of Tokyo, 
the number of jinrikisha men is only ten to twenty per cent 
of that of the early days, and the cost of employing them is 
correspondingly greater. 

Much money and great engineering skill have been de- 
voted to the improvement in water supply, to the estab- 
lishment of drainage and the sanitary condition of cities has 
been greatly inproved. The Japanese have demonstrated 
in many ways that they are quite abreast of the times in all 
matters relating to sanitation, hygiene and the control of 
epidemic or contagious diseases. Most of the streets are 
well lighted at night, the more important being quite bril- 



JAPAN REVISITED AFTER THIRTY YEARS 15 

liant with a display of electric lighting and electric advertis- 
ing. There are several fine, new theatres where, until the 
curtain goes up, one might easily imagine oneself in Paris 
or Berlin, though behind the curtain, in most cases, all is 
still Japanese. Many innovations, however, have been 
made in the theatre in the last thirty years, one of the most 
interesting being the introduction of female actors upon the 
Japanese stage. Western plays are now frequently put on 
and during one week of my stay in Tokyo there was a decided 
''run" on the box office of the leading play house, Hamlet, 
translated into Japanese, being the attraction. 

Few things were more astonishing than the growth during 
the past forty years of a taste for ''foreign" music. In no 
other respect did the civilization of Japan differ from that of 
Europe so much as in its music which, through centuries 
of assiduous cultivation, has become a highly developed and 
complete system, oriental in its general character, yet dis- 
tinctly national. It seemed at first that there could be no 
possible way of bridging over the chasm that yawned be- 
tween Japanese and European music, the difference being 
everywhere so great as to make them mutually exclusive. 
But the remarkable flexibility of the Japanese mind is 
illustrated by the fact- that while few, very few Europeans, 
even those of long residence, ever understand Japanese 
music well enough to become really fond of it, hundreds 
of thousands of Japanese find great pleasure in the works 
of Beethoven, Handel and Wagner. It must not be assumed 
that this is due to the innate superiority of western music. 
Their own still holds first place in the hearts of all the music 
loving people and some of them who are capable of thor- 
oughly understanding and enjoying both systems, sturdily 
maintain that it possesses certain qualities and character- 
istics of such excellence that it will have a large contribu- 
tory influence in the evolution of the "music of the future" 
and must be reckoned with accordingly. Not only is the 
music of the great composers listened to with pleasure by 
the Japanese, but it is reproduced, often in an almost fault- 
less manner. A special "school of music" is supported by 
the government, managed by competent European direc- 



16 THOMAS C. MENDENHALL 

tors and employing skilful foreign teachers. In the recitals 
given by this school, as well as by others not connected with 
it, one may hear really fine orchestral performances with 
excellent chorus singing and occasional viohn or piano 
solos that would be a credit to any concert stage in America. 

Time will not allow more than the mere mention of the 
more noticeable, and to the casual observer the more impres- 
sive evidences of the extraordinary advances made by this 
wonderful people during the past thirty years; — their mer- 
chant fleet which carries the flag of the Rising Sun to all 
quarters of the globe; their great commercial and manufac- 
turing activities; their shipbuilding; their cotton spinning; 
their big establishments for the manufacture of electric 
appHances; their mines and mining; their fine system of 
railways, extending from one end of the country to the other 
and many other things all of which were unknown in the 
earlier day. 

In Osaka I spent a number of pleasant hours in examining 
one of the most recently built cotton mills in which about 
twelve hundred people are employed. Attached to it is 
a hospital with several professional nurses and a physician 
in constant attendance. All of the employees had at least 
one meal each day in the establishment for which purpose 
there was provided a large and comfortable dining room 
where a thousand or more might be served at once, the food, 
of excellent quality, being prepared by a competent chef 
with his corps of assistants. For many who spent practi- 
cally all of their time inside of the gates there was provided 
a large amusement room and lecture hall in which a great 
variety of entertainments were given from time to time. 
Indeed I do not believe the most advanced of American 
or English cotton mills go further than this in the exercise 
of care for the health, comfort and pleasure of their em- 
ployees. This mill was one of a recently formed 'Hrust" 
or ''merger" of ten of about the same size and character. 
Corporations and combinations are quite as well known in 
Japan as elsewhere and even the ''big department store" is 
found in large cities. 



JAPAN REVISITED AFTER THIRTY YEARS 17 

Of advances in educational matters it is hardly necessary 
to speak at length. The intelHgent public has already been 
enlightened on that subject through the interesting addresses 
recently given in America and in England by Baron Kikuchi, 
formerly Minister of Education and now President of the 
Imperial University at Kyoto and by the exhaustive treatise 
on ''Education in Japan" which he has recently published. 

The one institution of University rank has multiplied 
into four ''Imperial Universities" and the demand for higher 
education is so great that there is a large overflow of students 
into well organized and well managed colleges maintained 
by private endowment. In the Imperial Universities the 
standards of admission and graduation are as high as in 
any other part of the world, the most rigorous tests of schol- 
arship being applied. Nearly all the more important work 
in the various professions and in the civil life of the coun- 
try is done by graduates of these institutions. In a few years 
the exceptions will be very rare and I doubt if there is another 
country in the world in which the University plays so large 
a part. Professors in these great schools, in addition to 
their regular work as teachers, are, for the most part, actively 
engaged in original research along the principal lines of 
scientific investigation. An Active National Academy exists, 
scientific publications are numerous and the work of men of 
science in Japan has long ago commanded the respect and 
admiration of the world. Primary and secondary schools 
have made fully as much progress as those of higher rank; 
teachers are trained in excellent normal schools; the most 
improved methods of instruction are used and the substan- 
tially built, comfortable and admirably planned school build- 
ings were a delightful surprise. 

Newspapers have greatly increased both in number and 
in influence. Many of them have very large circulations 
and are well edited, though some of them are by no means 
free from the vices so glaringly evident and so profoundly 
regrettable in the great majority of American and European 
journals. There are several excellent daily newspapers 
printed in the English language, some of which are managed 
and edited entirely by Japanese. 



18 THOMAS C. MENDENHALL 

One of the most interesting changes noted, of which there 
was much evidence everywhere, and one not quite easy to 
account for was what seemed to be a sort of revival or recru- 
descence of Buddhism. In many of the old temples there 
were marked evidences of prosperity; repairs, restorations, 
improvements and additions were common. And there 
were new temples, some of them larger and more costly 
than ever before erected. Millions of dollars had been 
expended in the construction of one magnificent shrine in 
Kyoto, of immense size and great beauty, satisfactory proof 
of the fact that the skill and artistic taste for which the old 
builders were famous has not been lost. These newer struc- 
tm-es were the result of voluntary contributions from mem- 
bers of a sect which might be said to represent a more lib- 
eral and enlightened Buddhism which seems to have become 
extremely popular in recent years. In considering the reli- 
gious faith of the Japanese it is necessary to remember that 
Buddhism is a religion of many sects, differing from each 
other as widely as the various sects of Christianity. The 
Buddhism of Ceylon, of Burmah or of China is not the Bud- 
dhism of Japan, nor is the Buddhism of five hundred years 
ago that of today, any more than the Christianity of the 
Middle Ages is that of today. More than one of the most 
noted European and American scholars who have lived 
long in Japan have pubUcally espoused Buddhism. 

At every hand are seen evidences of the general prosperity 
of the Japanese at the present time. A visitor, returning 
after thirty years is struck by the absence of beggars from 
highways, public places, and many localities about which, 
in former times, they hterally swarmed. This is probably 
not to be attributed to the entire absence of poverty but in 
large degree to the energetic measures of the government for 
the suppression of the vice, along with enlarged and improved 
public charities. One is tempted to start an inquiry con- 
cerning this prosperity, as to whether the individual as well 
as the nation is enjoying it; — for taxes are extremely high, 
the "cost of living" has more than doubled and the tariff 
on imported goods is in many cases so heavy as to seem pro- 



JAPAN REVISITED AFTER THIRTY YEARS 19 

hibitory, all of which is a natural and necessary result of 
the two great wars in which Japan has been engaged within 
the past fifteen years. Yet in not a single instance did I 
hear what could justly be called a complaint against the 
excessive taxation though it is evidently a heavy burden 
upon all classes. 

Much has been said and written about the patriotism of 
the Japanese and, indeed, this element of their character is 
so highly developed that the word seems to take on a new 
meaning when applied to them. Their loyalty to their ruler 
is a universally accepted religion. Nothing is left undone 
to cultivate this sentiment and to create a pride in their 
country's achievements. Even the hasty traveller must be 
impressed by the display in all quarters of relics of the vic- 
torious engagements of the army and navy in the recent 
war with Russia. In almost every public place in town or 
country, in temples, schoolhouses and grounds, in the Uni- 
versity, public museum, palaces and parks, there may be 
seen immense cannon, parts of captured ships, steam boilers, 
locomotives, small arms of all kinds, each with an in- 
scription relating the story of its capture. One is forcibly 
reminded of the practice of the Roman Republic in display- 
ing the beaks of captured ships upon its first great rostrum, 
thus decorating and naming it forever. One of the most 
curious and interesting of the relics of the war is a huge 
ship taken from the Russians, now anchored in the Bay of 
Yedo and enjoying considerable vogue as a restaurant and 
place of popular resort. 

Of the unselfish devotion of the Japanese soldiers and sail- 
ors, their courage and prowess nothing need be said. Against 
heavy odds they have proved them to the satisfaction of a 
not too credulous world. And it is important to note that 
there was no field of Rugby or Eton on which these victories 
were won. The Japanese are not an athletic people in the 
usual American or English meaning of the world. Stu- 
dents in the Imperial Universities do not play foot-hall, 
considering it not quite in harmony with the dignity and 
serious nature of the work in which they are engaged. It 



20 THOMAS C. MENDENHALL 

would, indeed, be near the truth to say that the victories 
of Japan were won in the school and university but not on 
the play ground. They were victories of brain rather than 
brawn. 

In spite of all one sees and hears no careful and disinter- 
ested observer can consider the Japanese a war-Uke people. 
As individuals they are most peaceful in disposition. In no 
other country in the world have I seen so little "physical 
conflict" among men. Even when under the influence of 
sake their quarrels are generally light, harmless and evan- 
escent. 

But when war is forced upon them, as they believe it to 
have been in their most recent conflict, in the defence of 
their emperor, their country or the honor of their nation, 
they fight as few fight in these modern days. 

Within the past few years there has been much wild and 
foolish talk among Americans in which it is declared or 
assumed that the Japanese, both Government and people, 
are anxious to go to war with the United States. Much of 
this has originated, it is said, among a class whose profes- 
sional advancement can only be greatly accelerated by induc- 
ing their own country to engage in battle with another. In 
my judgment nothing could easily be further from the truth. 
It might almost be said that it is the one thing above all 
others that they wish to avoid. That they have more than 
one good reason for feeling that the ''square deal" has not 
always been accorded them by us, cannot be denied. Nor 
can it be denied that they have treated each dehcate situa- 
tion as it arose with infinite patience and tact; there has been 
no bluff, bluster or arrogance but at every turn they have 
shown their earnest desire to maintain friendly relations 
with us, even when considerable sacrifices have been neces- 
sary. Unfortunately as a people we are too busily engaged 
in the activities of trade and commerce to give much con- 
sideration to questions that do not immediately affect those 
activities, forgetting today what we said and did yesterday 
and giving no thought to what we shall say or do tomorrow. 
We accept the false and reject the true with equal readiness 



JAPAN EE VISITED AFTER THIRTY YEARS 21 

and are thus always in danger of being led into situations 
from which it will be difficult to extricate ourselves. In 
view of our rapidly growing interests in the East it is impor- 
tant for us to realize that there is no nation in the world 
whose feeling for us today is more genuinely friendly than 
that of Japan. It will be an everlasting disgrace if we 
strain that friendly feeling beyond its elastic limit by yield- 
ing to the senseless clamor of a very small minority of our 
own people who are either ignorant or corrupt. 



THE JAPANESE IN AMERICA 

By Jokichi Takamine, Sc.D., President of the Nippon Club 

of New York, formerly Chemist to the Department 

of Agriculture and Commerce in Japan 

The first Japanese who ever came to America, as far as 
is known, was Manjiro Nakahama, a fourteen year old lad, 
who was picked up by the captain of an American fishing 
vessel, in 1841, twelve years before the coming of Commo- 
dore Perry to Japan. Nakahama with four companions 
had sailed out into the ocean on a fishing expedition; their 
boat had been wrecked by a storm, and they were finally 
washed ashore on a desert island in the northern Pacific. 
Three months of dire privation were passed on the island 
before the little party was rescued by the American vessel. 
The other Japanese were left in Hawaii, while Nakahama, 
who became a favorite of the captain, was brought to the 
United States, and placed in school. When Commodore 
Perry came to Japan, Nakahama acted as interpreter in 
the negotiations carried on between the American envoy 
and the Japanese government, represented by the feudal 
officials. 

Historically speaking, the fact that the first Japanese 
who came to America was a student is a mere accident of 
circumstance; but when one reflects upon the past and 
present attitude of the Japanese, both at home and in 
America, toward this country, this incident has a deep sig- 
nificance in that the Japanese are always desirous of coming 
to America as students — to learn something, and to find 
something that seems worth the learning. The Japanese 
who are eager to come to America are in the main students; 
the Japanese who are in America, whatever work they 
may be doing here, are students at heart. They are con- 
scious of their good fortune in being in touch with Western 
civilization, and are determined to understand it and to 

22 



THE JAPANESE IN AMERICA 23 

introduce it into their own country. It was so in the past, 
and it is so now. 

When Commodore Perry first came to Japan, most 
Japanese beheved that all foreigners were barbarians, and 
they beheved it simply because they did not comprehend 
what Western civilization was. But some of the intelligent 
class of Japanese did recognize that the foreigners with 
their awe-inspiring warships, — ''blackships" as they were 
called by the Japanese at the time — had something which 
the Japanese did not possess. Young men, eager to learn, 
eager to do some service for their country, wanted to go 
to Occidental countries, though their going was prohibited 
by the government of the time under penalty of death. 
Some of these ambitious young men failed, but some suc- 
ceeded in evading the strict surveillance of the government, 
and as stowaways reached foreign shores. The late Prince 
Ito, the greatest statesman of modern Japan, who went 
to England during the tumultuous times of the opening of 
Japan to foreign countries, was one. The late Jo Niisima, 
founder of the Doshisha Christian College, who worked his 
passage to America on a tramp steamer, and got a Christian 
education here, was another. Later on, when Western 
learning was encouraged in Japan, many bright young men 
found their way to American colleges, and these men are 
today among the foremost leaders of the country. The 
late Marquis Komura, who represented Japan at the 
Portsmouth Peace Conference concluding the Russo-Japa- 
nese War, was a graduate of Harvard; Viscount Chinda, 
the new ambassador to the United States, is also a graduate 
of an American university. Dr. Hatoyama who died last 
month, and who was a prominent pohtical leader, was a 
graduate of Yale. Princess Oyama, wife of the commander 
of the Japanese forces in the Russian War, is a Vassar 
graduate. The wife of Viscount Uchida, recently Ambassa- 
dor to America, is a graduate of Bryn Mawr. President 
Yamakawa of the newly organized Imperial University of 
Kjoishu studied at Yale. Leaders in rehgious and edu- 
cational circles who have been educated in America are 
hterally innumerable. These young men and women who 



24 JOKICHI TAKAMINE 

were educated in America a generation ago or later came 
to be the guiding spirits of modern Japan. They repre- 
sented ability, culture, enlightment, and all that higher 
education means in the making of a man or woman. They 
were an object lesson of Western civilization. They told 
the young men of Japan of the land of liberty and justice, 
the land of Washington and Lincoln, the land of Long- 
fellow, Irving, Hawthorne and Mark Twain. These names 
have thrilled all Japanese who desire to come to America, 
and thrilled them because they are students. New Haven 
and Cambridge are names even more familiar to the Japa- 
nese than New York and Chicago. Some of these young 
men may have means. When they have, they come to 
America as regular college students. Some may not be so 
fortunate; these work here for their education. 

Herein lies the decided difference between the Japanese 
and European immigrants. The European immigrants are 
in the main attracted here by the stories of huge fortunes 
made and to be made in America. The jingle of the dollar 
is in their ears all the way across the Atlantic. The Japa- 
nese do not know much about American millionaires. 
Their dreams are not of money but of books and colleges. 
There are Japanese farmers in the West and Japanese 
domestic servants in the East. One complaint we always 
hear about these Japanese servants is that they demand 
time to attend night schools or similar institutions. We 
also hear of Japanese butlers being discovered in kitchen 
corners, writing a poem or an essay. The American 
employer wonders why these Japanese cannot devote their 
attention to their work or other profitable business, instead 
of reading books and talking of colleges. Their wonder 
is quite natural, in view of the fact that the European 
immigrant throws himself heart and soul into the work 
that his employer may give him — if only it pays. It 
requires a long time for the Japanese young men to lose 
their ambition to get an American education, if they ever 
lose it. 

A few years ago, when the Japanese government pro- 
hibited; at the request of the American authorities, the 



THE JAPANESE IN AMEEICA 25 

coming of the Japanese laborers to America, a vital blow 
was dealt to the young men who were not rich enough to come 
to America as regular college students, but who still wanted 
to come, not really to work, but to learn. The flow of 
immigration from Japan to America has not only been 
stopped, but reversed. The excess of the Japanese de- 
partures from the United States over arrivals has been 
about 2,500 a year since 1908. The forced diminution of 
the Japanese population in the West had a disastrous 
effect on Japanese mercantile houses catering to their 
needs. Not a few banks and stores were forced to close, 
and those left are trying to remodel their business so as to 
cater to the general public, instead of to Japanese cus- 
tomers only. These attempts happily have in most cases 
been successful. 

The charge that the Japanese are an undesirable element 
in the population of America is not sustained by fact. As 
already stated, the Japanese coming to America are mostly 
aspiring students and have had the benefit of a good edu- 
cation at home. Often we see graduates of the Japanese 
colleges working as ordinary farm-hands in the West and 
as butlers in the East. They have the peculiar character- 
istics that education alone can impart to a man. They 
have a sense of honor, of duty and of pride. They may 
have weaknesses, too, but I do not hesitate to assert upon 
their behalf, that when they become citizens of America 
they will be worthy citizens. The fact that the Japanese 
in San Francisco, though small in number, readily sub- 
scribed the sum of $50,000 to the fund of the coming 
Panama-Pacific Exposition certainly does not show that they 
are indifferent to what is going on around them. 

A decided characteristic of the Japanese in this country 
is their remarkable assimilation of American manners and 
customs. There is in no Occidental city a Japantown as 
there is a Chinatown. Though there are two thousand 
Japanese in New York, they are scattered all over the city, 
and so thoroughly merged in the population that they 
never form an element apart. The allegation that the 
Japanese are unassimilable is a totally mistaken one. The 



26 JOKICHI TAKAMINE 

Japanese in California last summer begged that some 
representative Japanese from home might visit them and 
study theu' conditions. Dr. Nitobe, the first exchange pro- 
fessor between the United States and Japan, and Repre- 
sentative Saburo Shimada, who had taken up the mission 
of visiting California, both came, expecting to hear many 
and various complaints from the Japanese in the Western 
States in view of the great number of anti-Japanese prob- 
lems originating there. The surprise of the visitors was 
all the greater when they discovered for instance that the 
Japanese in Cahfornia had really invited them that they 
might observe the prosperous condition in which they were 
hving. They were evidently liked and respected by their 
American neighbors; were perfectly satisfied with the treat- 
ment they received from the American authorities. They 
declared that the so-called anti-Japanese feehng was a 
political fiction only, and had nothing to do with the 
actualities of life. They were materially prosperous, and 
with prosperity, there has come a universal desire to marry. 
To accomplish this, they have evolved a plan of finding 
wives through the exchange of photographs with young 
women at home, the result being that each steamer arriving 
in San Francisco brings a bevy of blushing brides from the 
country of the cherry and chrysanthemum. So these Asiatics 
settle on America's soil, aspiring to bring up a generation 
of worthy citizens of this great republic. 

In California the Japanese are mostly engaged in agri- 
culture. The land cultivated by them amounts to about 
200,000 acres, yielding $6,000,000 worth of various prod- 
ucts each year. Professor Takahashi of Tokyo University 
not long ago upon a visit to Fresno, California, said: 
''Twelve years ago there were only four Japanese graves 
in Fresno. Now there are 1,200. During these years, 
10,000 Japanese came to Fresno to pick grapes, the Cau- 
casian laborer being unable to do the work in a squatting 
position as the Japanese do it. The temperature at the 
grape-gathering season is about 140° Fahrenheit, and the 
heat of the gravel scorches the pickers' feet even through 
the specially-made leather shoe soles about an inch thick. 



THE JAPANESE IN AMERICA 27 

Maddened with thirst, they eat the grapes, drink polluted 
water, and die of typhoid fever, the disease which is re- 
sponsible for the death of one in every eight of them. 
These men fought a twelve years' war in the California 
vineyards, and fell on the field at a rate such as is seldom 
seen on even the most destructive of battlefields. So was 
the fruit industry in California brought to the condition in 
which it is today; and the exclusion of Japanese labor will 
be impossible without revolutionizing the conditions of the 
growing of fruits and their marketing, a result neither 
possible nor desirable as pointed out in an official report 
of the Labor Commissioner of California. 

"The California fruit growers have, in the absence of the 
Japanese, imported Hindoo laborers, and found them very 
unsatisfactory. The fact that the Japanese are necessary 
for the development of America, is undeniable, and any 
attempt to conceal or misrepresent this fact, is unjust, 
unwarranted, unmoral and unfriendly." 

The Commissioner of the Labor Bureau of California 
after an exhaustive investigation into Japanese labor re- 
ported that this labor or its equivalent was essential to 
the development and carrying on of some specialized 
agricultural industries, such, for example, as fruits and 
sugar beets. It is now admitted that the anti-Japanese 
agitation in California was all due to the machinations of 
local political organs. Where such influence is not exer- 
cised, for instance at Seattle, the utmost cordiality exists 
between the Japanese and the Americans in whatever 
circumstances they may meet. 

You who live in the United States do not know the 
magic of the word America as the Japanese young men do. 
There are even at the present moment thousands of Japanese 
longing for the chance to cross the Pacific, but because they 
must work in America to live, they are barred from seeing 
the land of their hopes and aspirations. If they did come, 
you may be sure that they would contribute their full share 
as their forerunners have done, to the progress of that 
wonderful civilization that is American. 

Is not the Japanese laboring class doing its work well in 



28 JOKICHI TAKAMINE 

America? And on the intellectual side, also, are not the 
Japanese doing creditable work, particularly when the small- 
ness of their number here is considered? 

About the year 1886 the newspapers in Japan made it a 
point to urge the desirabihty of Japanese students pro- 
ceeding to America, and in consequence, San Francisco 
soon came to harbor many of them. The first thing they 
did upon their arrival was to publish a weekly magazine, 
styled New Japan, printing it by mimeograph. It advo- 
cated extreme radicaUsm, a radicahsm that was character- 
ized more by courage than by discretion. Its distribution 
in Japan was frequently prohibited, and it had to change 
its name from time to time, until it was compelled finally 
to suspend pubUcation about 1892. At present there are 
three newspapers published in San Francisco. They are 
the New World, established fifteen years ago, the Nichi- 
hei (Japan and America), established ten years ago, and 
the Sari Francisco News, established ten years ago. They 
are all pubhshed in Japanese. In fact there are one or more 
Japanese newspapers in every town where live a sufficient 
number of Japanese. Such is the case with Los Angeles, 
Sacramento, Seattle, Portland, Salt Lake, Denver, and 
New York. In New York, there are two Japanese weekly 
newspapers, the Japanese American Commercial Weekly 
and the New York Shimpo; and the Oriental Information 
Agency is pubHshing in English a monthly, called The 
Oriental Review, which seeks to promote a better under- 
standing of Oriental affairs by the American public. 

There are also many individuals working in the line of 
intellectual advancement in America. Kakuzo Okakura, 
Curator of the Japanese Department of the Boston Museum, 
has brought the collection of Japanese art objects there 
to a plane rarely seen even in Japan itself. Dr. lye- 
naga, professorial lecturer of the Chicago University, Dr. 
Asakawa, assistant professor of Yale University, Mr. 
Kinnosuke Adachi and Mr. Masuji Miyagawa, contributors 
to magazines and newspapers, are all making valuable con- 
tributions to Western knowledge of the East in speech or 
writing. There are also Japanese medical authorities work- 



THE JAPANESE IN AMEKICA 29 

ing independently or with various American institutions, 
whose discoveries in medicine have ah-eady won world-wide 
recognition. 

It is often asserted that the Japanese are indifferent to 
religion. I do not know that any of the Western nations 
are so particularly interested in rehgion that they can claim 
to be more religious than the Japanese. If there are any 
people who have more interest in religion than others, they 
are those whose most distinctive character is religious. 
Mohamedans, Mormons, and believers in a few other such 
religions may be such. The Japanese are not so fanatical. 
They are Buddhists and Shintoists at the same time; they 
believe in the precepts of Confucius, and some of them are 
Christians. The Honganji, which is the Buddhist Vatican 
in Japan, has no less than fifteen temples in America, 
including one in Vancouver. These temples may be found 
in San Francisco, Sacramento, Oakland, Stockton, San Jose, 
Fresno, Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle, and other places on 
the Pacific coast. The Buddhist Japanese in America are 
also organized into various associations which, like the 
Y. M. C. A., have their own library, music corps, and 
recreation departments. They are publishing Buddhist 
magazines, such as American Buddhism, Teaching of Buddha, 
Los Angeles Buddhism, and others, either in Japanese or 
English. There are also Japanese Christian churches of 
different denominations both on the Pacific coast and in the 
Eastern States, though most Japanese Christians are 
inclined to attend American churches of their own denomi- 
nation. 

There are a number of Japanese in America like Kanae 
Nagasawa of Sonoma County and Kinji Ushijima of San 
Francisco whose work in industrial or agricultural lines has 
already been crowned with success. Both of these men 
came to America as students, and seeing the vast oppor- 
tunities that America offered to any man of industrial 
abihty, plunged into business earnestly. Nagasawa was a 
student in England at the time Japan was passing through 
the stirring period of the restoration of the imperial regime. 
Money ceased to come from home, and Nagasawa was 



30 JOKICHI TAKAMINE 

brought to America by Townsend Harris and worked on 
his plantation. Afterwards he started a farm of his own, 
and now owns 2,000 acres of vineyards and makes more 
than $1,000,000 worth of wine every year. Ushijima 
of San Francisco is called a "potato king." Before 
success crowned his business — success due to Spanish- 
American War he had failed and failed until he was reduced 
to such a condition that he was forced to live on flour and 
salt. Another Japanese millionaire of California almost 
monopolizes the supply of flowers for San Francisco. 

Wherever there is sufiicient number of Japanese there 
are Japanese restaurants, hotels, laundries, and stores. 
The customers are Japanese farmers working on their own 
farms or on leased land, or those employed by American 
farmers. According to the report of the Labor Com- 
missioner of California, the Japanese furnish 87 per cent of 
the strawberry, 67 per cent of the beet, 50 per cent of the 
grape, and more than 50 per cent of such other agri- 
cultural products as require some productive skill, that 
are raised in California. This shows to what extent the 
Japanese have become necessary in the carrying on of 
agriculture in California. 

The Japanese scattered in other parts of the United States 
are not pursuing so uniform a trade as those in California. 
In Washington there are about 10,000 Japanese, princi- 
pally working as domestic servants, in sawmills and railroad 
building, or on farms. In the Eastern States, a great 
number of Japanese are doing housework. Some of them, 
however, are earning their living as acrobats, or as owners 
of rolling ball establishments in summer resorts and fairs. 

By far the most important branch of the Japanese com- 
munity in the United States is that engaged in the Japa- 
nese-American trade. Last year the trade between Japan 
and America amounted to $100,000,000, the exports from 
America to Japan being $28,000,000 and exports from Japan 
to America $72,000,000. The main currents of the trade 
are in the buying of cotton and machinery from America 
by Japan, and in the buying of silk, tea, and porcelain by 
America from Japan. The greater portion of these lines 



THE JAPANESE IN AMERICA 31 

of business is carried on by the Japanese. The Japanese 
buyers of cotton are backed by Japanese capital and have 
their offices in New York and in the cotton-producing 
centers. The buyers of machinery are also on the spot. 
Mitsui, Okura, Takata, and lida, are names that represent 
huge wealth in Japan. Their companies have offices in 
New York and are supplying American machinery to Japa- 
nese railways, mines, and factories. In the sale of Japanese 
goods to America, again. New York has become a principal 
center of distribution. Mitsui and Morimura are doing a 
large business. 

Morimura and Company, New York, is the largest store 
in the world deahng in Japanese porcelain, and is largely 
responsible for the building up of the Japanese porcelain 
trade in the United States. The firm has modelled its 
factories at home so as to make its porcelain suit the 
American tastes. 

The Japanese in the various American cities have their 
clubs, but the most important of these is the Nippon Club, 
of New York, with its dainty Japanese drawing room, and 
a membership of 130. It has a few American members, 
General Stewart L. Woodford being one. There is also the 
Japan Society of New York, estabhshed with a view to 
promoting friendly relations between Japan and America. 
This society is also seeking to make Americans understand 
the Japanese through the medium of exhibitions, lectures 
and dinners. Its membership includes the most prominent 
figures both American and Japanese, in the financial and 
social circles of New York. 

As I have said before, the immigration of laborers from 
Japan to the United States has ceased since the present 
arrangement between the two nations was agreed to, but 
the relations of the two countries are becoming closer and 
closer because of the increasing interest shown by America 
in the Far East, and by the Japanese in American affairs. 
The day, I hope, is not far distant when the peoples of 
these two lands on the Pacific's shores will understand and 
appreciate one another thoroughly and well, to the everlast- 
ing good not only to themselves but of all the children of men. 



THE FAMILY OF NATIONS IDEA AND JAPAN 

By George Grafton Wilson, Ph.D., LL.D., Professor of Inter- 
national Law in Harvard University 

From the late years of the sixteenth century the idea of a 
family of nations frequently appeared. The Grand Design 
of Henry IV in 1603 set forth a plan 'Ho divide proportion- 
ately the whole of Europe between a certain number of 
Powers, which would have nothing to envy one another for 
on the ground of equality, and nothing to fear on the ground 
of the balance of power" (VI, Memoires du Due de Sully, 
129). The number of states was to be fifteen, divided into 
three classes, (1) six hereditary monarchies: France, Spain, 
Great Britain, Denmark, Sweden and Lombardy; (2) five 
elective monarchies : the Empire, the Papacy, Poland, Hun- 
gary and Bohemia; and (3) four republics : Venice, the Repub- 
lic of Italy, Switzerland and the Belgian Republic. 

Other propositions looking toward the formation of a 
"society of states" followed. In 1693 William Penn set 
forth a plan in an "Essay towards the Present and Future 
Peace of Europe by the Establishment of an European Dyet, 
Parliament, or Estates." This, like other plans, aimed 
particularly to secure peace among the nations. That was 
the plan of Abbe Saint Pierre a few years later, of von Gentz 
a hundred years later, and of many of our own day. 

There was developing at the same time with these early 
plans a theoretical basis for a family of nations resting not 
on the desire for peace but on the current conception of 
the nature of the state as foimded in natural law. Fran- 
ciscus Suarez (1548-1617), a learned Spanish theologian 
writing in 1612, refers to the unity of the human race, say- 
ing that every state, republic or kingdom forms a member of 
this general body. He further says, "None of these states 
is suflicient for itself; all have need of reciprocal support, 
association, and mutual relations to ameliorate their situa- 

32 



THE FAMILY OF NATIONS IDEA AND JAPAN 33 

ation" {Tractatus de Legibus ac de Deo Legislatore, II, 
19, 9). Grotius, the greatest contributor to the science of 
international law writing in 1625, finds a similar basis for 
many obligations. Wolf, writing in the middle of the eight- 
eenth century after presenting the duties of nations toward 
one another, says, ''Finally as the nations are like the citi- 
zens of a great civil society, they ought to live in harmony 
with one another and consequently they ought to avoid with 
care all discord and all that leads thereto" (Institutiones, 
XCXXIV). Vattel, whose systematic work influenced 
thought after the middle of the eighteenth century, partic- 
ularly in England and America, wrote in 1758, ''Nations 
being composed of men naturally free and independent, and 
who, before the establishment of civil societies, live together 
in a state of nature, nations, or sovereign states, are to be 
considered as so many free persons, living together in the 
state of nature." These nations Vattel says later "are 
obliged to cultivate toward one another the intercourse of 
humanity" which results in the establishment of the society 
of nations (Droit des Gens, Preliminaries, sees. 4, 11). 
Many later writers and practical statesmen follow the doc- 
trine of natural law as a basis for the unity known as the 
family of nations. 

Whatever the theoretical basis of the idea of the family 
of nations, historically the treaty of Westphalia of 1648 
established a European family of nations which assumed to 
determine what other political unities should be received to 
membership on terms of equality. Practical considerations 
often furnished support for the theoretical arguments already 
mentioned as supported by text-writers. 

Prior to the treaty of Westphalia in 1648, there were 
relations among de facto states. Many of these states had 
been accustomed to send and to receive ambassadors or 
other representatives. The long and ardent discussions 
preceding the signing of the treaty of 1648 certainly brought 
about a realization of the necessity for a greater agreement 
upon the methods of interstate negotiation. The assembling 
of the representatives of so many states was in itself signi- 
ficant of the realization of the community of interests among 



34 GEORGE GRAFTON WILSON 

European states. The development of the custom of send- 
ing by one state of diplomatic representatives to reside per- 
manently near the sovereign of another state, while sometimes 
accompanied by infelicitous jealousies, was nevertheless 
steady. The idea of unity of interest among European 
states became an accepted principle of European policy. 
The intercourse of European states, for many years inter- 
mittent, became a settled practice. The collapse of the 
idea of one imperial power dominating all others made it 
necessary that something be found to take its place if sta- 
bility in European conditions was to be maintained. The 
idea that the states of Europe formed a family came to be 
prevalent. The reference on the part of these states to 
common standards gave the idea sufficient support. 

The states participating in the negotiations which led 
to the treaty of Westphalia were considered as members of 
the family of nations, and their standing in the family was 
determined as being that recognized by the treaty. Careful 
investigation into the history of the acquisition of this 
standing was not thought expedient. Facts were accepted 
as they were. 

This European family did not include all the states which 
have subsequently become parts of the European system. 
Russia was among those not directly represented in the nego- 
tiations preceding 1648. Russia under Peter the Great looked 
toward Europe rather than toward Asia, and was gradually 
admitted to the European councils, and even was granted a 
share in the partition of one of the formerly recognized 
states when Poland was divided. 

Changes of territory and readjustment of power brought 
new states within the European family or caused the dis- 
appearance of old states. The idea that the international 
family was made up exclusively of members from western 
Europe disappeared, and a broader conception took its 
place. 

Naturally membership in the family of nations must be 
limited to states which are willing to recognize the prin- 
ciples of law upon which the international society is based. 
These principles were regarded as European, and prevailed 



THE FAMILY OF NATIONS IDEA AND JAPAN 35 

among states having what was called a Christian civiliza- 
tion and a degree of conunon interests, yet not all European 
states were regarded as members of the international society. 
Only those states which had acquired a standard satisfac- 
tory to the self-constituted judges were considered as within 
the family. 

With the recognition of the United States the circle of 
the family of nations was somewhat enlarged. The United 
States was, however, an expansion of Europe, but as Ham- 
ilton said in speaking of the United States, ''Ever since we 
have been an independent nation, we have appealed to and 
acted upon the modern law of nations as understood in Eu- 
rope. Various resolutions of Congress during our Revo- 
lution, the correspondence of executive officers, the deci- 
sions of our courts of admiralty, all recognize this standard" 
{Letters to Camillus, No. 20). It was understood also that 
the United States would not become involved in European 
affairs. As Washington said in his farewell address in 1796, 
"Europe has a set of primary interests which to us have none 
or a very remote relation." 

France had favored the recognition of the United States 
as a means to bring pressure upon England. Spain early 
realized that this course would make it more difficult for her 
to maintain her colonies in the New World. The policy 
of England was favorable to the recognition of the statehood 
of the revolting Spanish colonies in the early nineteenth 
century. 

The policy of the continental states in the early years 
of the nineteenth century gave rise to an American doctrine 
which makes the states of the western hemisphere a family 
for certain purposes. President Roosevelt, in his message 
of December 3, 1901, announced that ''The Monroe Doctrine 
should be the cardinal feature of the foreign policy of all 
the nations of the two Americas as it is of the United States." 
As in earlier days, writers had produced treaties upon 
"European International Law," so in these later days 
appear such treatises as "Le Droit International Am^ri- 
cain" (1910) of Dr. Alexandre Alvarez. 

While there may be certain phases of the principles of 



36 GEORGE GRAFTON WILSON 

interstate negotiation which apply particularly to a given 
continent as to Europe or America, the doctrine of the fam- 
ily of nations would seem to support the contention that 
certain fundamental principles should prevail among all 
states members of the international circle. 

While the states of North and South America were less 
frequently in relations with other states than were the con- 
tinental states, yet they claimed all the privileges and im- 
munities of the oldest and most powerful members of the 
international society. Their claims were sometimes disre- 
garded, as is evident in the extension of the principle of the 
exercise of the right of asylimi in many South and Central 
American states. 

Turkey, while its system of government and its rehgion 
was unhke the European systems, was in 1856 formally 
admitted to "the participation in the advantages of European 
public law and concert." 

The other states admitted to the family had been con- 
stituted out of peoples who had extended the European 
civilization to other lands. Turkey was admitted to the 
family without the qualifications formerly thought to be 
necessary for membership. Wherein her legal system did 
not conform to the European system, it was necessary for 
Turkey to allow to foreigners special exemptions which they 
had previously enjoyed, and in many respects the admission 
was rather nominal than real, and the Turkish position in 
Europe has been the subject of the play of European poli- 
tics. 

Sir William Scott, Lord Stowell, in 1801, speaking of the 
Turkish dominions, said ''The inhabitants of those coun- 
tries are not professors of exactly the same law of nations 
with ourselves. In consideration of the peculiarities of 
their situation and character, the court has repeatedly ex- 
pressed a disposition not to hold them bound to the utmost 
rigor of that system of public laws on which European states 
have so long acted in their intercourse with one another" 
(The Madonna de-l Bursa, 4 C, Rob. 169). 

Other states, particularly in Asia, had for many years 
granted special privileges and protection to citizens of 



THE FAMILY OF NATIONS IDEA AND JAPAN 37 

states which were members of the family of nations under 
the form of exterritoriahty. Em-opeans had in these states 
the right to be tried by their own courts, while similar 
privileges were not extended to foreigners in European states. 
These states not members of the family of nations were not 
invited to participate in the conferences of European powers 
save in such general conferences as, for example, those assem- 
bled at The Hague in 1899 and 1907. 

Till 1854 Japan had been generally closed to foreigners. 
The treaty of March 31, 1854, provided for peace, commerce 
and navigation between the United States and Japan. 
British, Russian, French, Portuguese and German treaties 
soon followed. The treaty of 1858 with the United States 
was more extended in scope, but the Japanese treaties before 
the last decade of the nineteenth century usually contained 
clauses like that in Article 6 of the treaty of 1858 with the 
United States, which says, ''Americans committing offences 
against Japanese shall be tried in American consular courts, 
and when guilty shall be punished according to American 
law." 

Special quarters had been set aside in cities for the use 
of foreigners, and special exemptions were extended to these 
quarters. Certain of these privileges gave to the foreigners 
advantages not possessed by the Japanese. The treaty 
between the United States and Japan, which was signed 
November 22, 1894, and whose important clauses became 
operative July 17, 1899, provided in Article I that, 

''The citizens or subjects of each of the two High Con- 
tracting Parties .... shall have free access to the 
Courts of Justice in pursuit and defense of their rights ; they 
shall be at liberty equally with native citizens or subjects to 
choose and employ lawyers, advocates and representatives 
to pursue and defend their rights before such Courts, and in 
all other matters connected with the administration of justice 
they shall enjoy all the rights and privileges enjoyed by 
native citizens or subjects." 

Article XVII of the same treaty provides that "The 
several Foreign Settlements in Japan shall, from the date 
this treaty comes into force, be incorporated with the respec- 



38 GEORGE GRAFTON WILSON 

tive Japanese Communes, and shall thenceforth form part 
of the general municipal system in Japan. The competent 
Japanese authorities shall thereupon assume all municipal 
obligations and duties in respect thereof, and the common 
funds and property, if any, belonging to such settlements 
shall at the same time be transferred to the said Japanese 
Authorities." 

The Japanese fully realized that by these new agreements 
with the members of the family of nations, the new Island 
Empire had been fully received into the international 
society in the most formal and deliberate manner. The 
work of the special embassy which Japan had sent to the 
west in 1871 had gradually become effective. Great Brit- 
ain offered a revised treaty in 1884. Ten years later the 
treaties with most of the great states were revised, and in 
1899, after forty-five years from the coming of Commodore 
Perry to the closed doors of Japan, the Empire was received 
into full fellowship of the international family. 

Marquis Yamagata, the minister president of state, in 
an official notification, said on July 1, 1899: 

"The revision of the treaties in the sense of placing on a foot- 
ing of equality the intercourse of this country with foreign States, 
was the basis of the great liberal policy adopted at the time of 
the restoration, and that such a course conduces to enhance the 
prestige of the Empire and to promote the prosperity of the people, 
is a proposition not requiring demonstration. But if there should 
be anything defective in the methods adopted for giving effect 
to the treaties, not merely will the object of revision be sacrificed, 
but also the country's relations with friendly powers will be im- 
paired and its prestige may be lowered. It is of course beyond 
question that any rights and privileges accruing to us as a result 
of treaty revision should be duly asserted. But there devolves 
upon the Government of this Empire the responsibility, and upon 
the people of this realm, the duty of protecting the rights and priv- 
ileges of foreigners, and of sparing no effort that they may one 
and aJl be enabled to reside in the country confidently and content- 
edly. It behooves all officials to clearly apprehend the august 
intentions, and to pay profound attention to these points" (United 
States Foreign Relations, 1899, p. 470). 

The obhgations assumed by Japan were as fully realized 
as the privileges gained. The chief officials of the depart- 
ments of government issued instructions to the officials under 



THE FAMILY OF NATIONS IDEA AND JAPAN 39 

them showing this realization of obligation. The instruc- 
tions of Viscount Katsura, minister of war, breathes the 
spirit of restraint which was evident in all. 

"The successful revision of treaties has placed the country on 
a footing equal with western powers, but it must not be forgotten 
that at the same time grave responsibilities thereby devolve 
upon it. On the morrow of the operation of revised treaties for- 
eigners will come and go as they like, will freely fix their abodes 
or pursue business in the interior, and in consequence the people 
will have far greater occasions than before of coming into contact 
with foreigners. Now, history, both Japanese and foreign, shows 
that international troubles have had their origin very frequently 
in the daily intercourse between the people of a land and aliens, 
consequently the people of this Empire, now that the system of 
mixed residence will be inaugurated, must act with discretion and 
magnanimity toward foreign neighbors, so that the reality of being 
a civilized power may be manifested in the eyes of foreign nations, 
and that any accident involving trouble with foreign countries 
may be efficiently guarded against. The reputation of our sol- 
diers as sincere and loyal subjects of His Majesty, faithful in the 
discharge of the public duties, and, as the flower of the nation, 
imbued with the spirit of manly valor, is acknowledged alike at 
home and abroad. Suppose the soldiers crowned with such re- 
nown and praise be betrayed into committing indiscreet acts toward 
foreigners. The consequence will not only result in affecting the 
dignity of the troops, but may even invite ignominy upon the 
nation and involve the imperial court in difficulty. Bearing all 
these points in mind the troops must strictly be on their guard 
against all indiscreet actions (United States Foreign Relations, 
1899, p. 474). 

These instructions all reflected the spirit of His August 
Majesty, the Emperor, whose rescript of June 30, 1899, said: 

"Governing our realm by the abiding aid of our ancestors' 
achievements, which have enabled us to secure the prosperity of 
our people at home and to establish relations of close amity with 
the nations abroad, it is a source of heartfelt gratification to us 
that, in the sequel of exhaustive planning and repeated negotia- 
tions, an agreement has been come to with the powers, and the 
revision of the treaties, our long-cherished aim, is today on the 
eve of becoming an accomplished fact; a result which, while it 
adds materially to the responsibilities of our Empire, will greatly 
strengthen the basis of our friendship with foreign countries. 

"It is our earnest wish that our subjects, whose devoted loyalty 
in the discharge of their duties is conspicuous, should enter earn- 
estly into our sentiments in this matter and, in compliance with 
the great policy of opening the country, should all unite with one 



40 GEORGE GRAFTON WILSON 

heart to associate cordially with the peoples from afar, thus main- 
taining the character of the nation and enhancing the prestige 
of the Empire. 

"In view of the responsibilities that devolve upon us in giving 
effect to the new treaties, it is our will that our ministers of state, 
acting on our behalf, should instruct our officials of all classes to 
observe the utmost circumspection in the management of affairs, 
to the end that subjects and strangers alike may enjoy equal priv- 
ileges and advantages and that, every source of dissatisfaction 
being avoided, relations of peace and amity with all nations may 
be streng-thened and consolidated in perpetuity" (United States 
Foreign Relations, 1899, p. 469). 

Of the operation of the new treaties there has been 
the highest commendation. President McKinley, in his 
message of December 5, 1899, said, 

"The treaty of commerce and navigation between the United 
States and Japan on November 22, 1894, took effect in accordance 
with the terms of its XlXth Article on the 17th of July last, simul- 
taneously with the enforcement of like treaties with the other 
powers, except France, whose convention did not go into opera- 
tion until August 4, the United States being, however, granted 
up to that date all the privileges and rights accorded to French 
citizens under the old French treaty. By this notable conventional 
reform Japan's position as a fully independent sovereign power is 
assured, control being gained of taxation, customs revenues, judi- 
cial administration, coasting trade, and all other domestic func- 
tions of government, and foreign extra-territorial rights being 
renounced. 

"Comprehensive codes of civil and criminal procedure accord- 
ing to western methods, public instruction, patents and copyrights, 
municipal administratioc , including jurisdiction over the former 
foreign settlements, customs tariffs and procedure, public health, 
and other administrative measures have been proclaimed. The 
working of the new system has given rise to no material complaints 
on the part of the American citizens or interests, a circumstance 
which attests the ripe consideration with which the change has 
been prepared" (United States Foreign Relations, 1899, p. XXIV). 

When early in 1902 there was announced an agreement 
cementing an alliance between Great Britain, hitherto proud 
of her traditional ''splendid isolation," and Japan only 
recently admitted to the international circle, many of those 
best informed upon international relations were amazed. 
Time has seemed to show the wisdom of the British policy, 
but most significant and hopeful, for those who look forward 
to the days when peace shall prevail, is this agreement as 



THE FAMILY OF NATIONS IDEA AND JAPAN 41 

an evidence that in this newer age the family of nations will 
be based not upon the independence but upon the inter- 
dependence of its members. 

The act of admission of Japan to the family of nations 
marks a stage in the development of the idea of international 
society. The membership in the family of nations is no 
longer confined to European nations or to nations possessing 
European civilization or to states bound closely with the 
European system, but regardless of historical origins, reli- 
gious preferences, or narrow views of international policies 
is extended to a state able to maintain an efficient and stable 
pohtical organization. Thus, not as the result of war, 
not by the sundering of pohtical relations which had bound 
colony to mother country, not as the compromise thrown 
to appease international jealousy, nor even as a matter of 
political expediency, was the Empire of Japan admitted to 
the international circle, but as the recognition that a state 
separated far from western nations in latitude, language, 
and customs had won its place by the development of a 
worthy civihzation as an equal among equals in the family 
of nations. 



GEOGRAPHICAL ENVIRONMENT AND JAPANESE 

CHARACTER 

By Ellsworth Huntington, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of 
Geography in Yale University 

Individuals may determine the details of history, but its 
great movements depend upon the character of races. In 
no country is this truer than in Japan. She has not risen 
to the position of a world-power through the exertions of 
any single individual, but because her people possess a 
character comparable to that of the nations of Europe. In 
order to understand Japan's history and the present position 
of the island empire it is necessary to investigate the causes 
which have produced a character different from that of any 
other Asiatic nation. The problem is essentially biological 
and must be treated hke other biological problems. Exter- 
nal influences such as the Buddhist religion, Chinese ideals 
in art, literature and social life, European methods in com- 
merce, war and government are doubtless highly important, 
but back of them and long antedating them, lie the mental 
traits which have made the Japanese able so quickly and 
effectively to assimilate and improve upon foreign ideas. 
These mental traits cannot be dismissed merely as unex- 
plained racial characteristics. They must have arisen in 
accordance with the fixed laws of nature; and only by dis- 
covering these laws can the Japanese or any other race hope 
to accelerate the development of good quahties and to ehm- 
inate those that are detrimental. 

From the biological, that is the evolutionary point of 
view, only three theories seem to offer any adequate explan- 
ation of the origin of racial characteristics. In the first 
place such characteristics may have arisen from spontaneous 
variations, secondly from the intermixture of races, and 
thirdly from the stimulation and selective action of geo- 
graphic environment. 

42 



ENVIRONMENT AND JAPANESE CHARACTER 43 

The first theory, that of spontaneous variations, finds 
frequent expression in biological writings. According to it 
offspring vary from parents for no assignable causes, but 
simply because of some innate, organic characteristic. In 
certain species or at certain periods in the history of each 
species such variations become especially abundant and 
new varieties or even new species arise. For instance, at 
the present time the experiments of DeVries and others show 
that the evening primrose is highly variable and is constantly 
giving off sports. It is a matter of every-day observation 
that variations of this kind occur in the human race. Sons 
differ from fathers and daughters from mothers. Under 
ordinary circumstances, where the environment remains 
constant, such variations tend to counteract one another 
and thus are eliminated in the course of a few generations. 
It is possible, nevertheless, that they sometimes keep on in 
a definite direction without reference to whether the environ- 
ment is favorable or unfavorable. Thus a new species may 
perhaps be evolved without the aid of external conditions. 
How frequently this has taken place, or how important it 
may be, we cannot tell, for we are dealing here with infer- 
ences and not with facts of actual observation. On the 
other hand we know positively that after variations have 
once arisen environment picks out certain ones for preser- 
vation. No one can question that, other things being equal, 
a Korean tiger which is not sensitive to dampness or low tem- 
perature is more likely to be strong and to reproduce his kind 
than is one which is forced to seek retreat in a warm cave 
whenever heavy rain falls or the temperature is low. Simi- 
larly one of the chief reasons why the domestic sheep is 
among the most gregarious and timorous of animals is that 
for ages the adventurous individuals who were prone to 
stray from the flock have been killed by wild animals and 
have left no progeny. Hence, even though variations in a 
species may arise from some unknown, internal cause, their 
preservation is almost entirely a matter of environment. 
Moreover it is quite possible that the supposed spontaneous 
variations are due to some external cause. For example, in 
the case of the primrose with its abnormally high variability, 



44 ELLSWORTH HUNTINGTON 

there is no evidence, so far as our present knowledge goes, that 
the changes may not be instigated by external stimuli such 
as peculiar conditions of sunshine, temperature or barometric 
pressure at critical times in the development of the seed. 
Or again minute changes in the chemical composition of 
the sap, as MacDougal has shown, may produce revolution- 
ary changes in the succeeding generation. So commonplace 
an accident as the dying of a worm among the roots at a 
critical time may, for all that we know, alter the composi- 
tion of the sap sufficiently to cause occasional ovules to 
develop into seeds and plants possessing qualities notably 
different from those of the parents. Hence even in their 
origin the so-called spontaneous variations of living beings 
may be the result of environment, and their preservation 
is certainly such a result. 

Coming now to the second theory, the vast majority of 
students agree that the immense importance and far-reach- 
ing results of the intermixture of races cannot be gainsaid. 
In general, according to the observations of biologists, 
the interbreeding of diverse types produces two results. 
In the first place a race different from either of its ancestors 
is the immediate and obvious product. In the second place, 
the individuals of the new race tend to vary widely from the 
mean. In the case of animals we notice great variations in 
size, speed, and other physical attributes. In the case of 
man, since the brain is his most sensitive as well as most 
important organ, the most notable variations are mental; 
and a mixed race appears to be characterized not only by 
individuals of uncommon intellectual brilliancy, but also 
by an undue proportion of feeble-minded. In spite of the 
importance of the intermixture of races, however, there are 
certain facts which tend to show that its importance is 
much reduced by the operation of environment. In the 
first place hybridization between closely allied races such as 
the English and Germans cannot be expected to produce 
any very striking results since the original characteristics 
of the two races are closely similar. The most marked 
effects of crossing are found where diverse races intermingle, 
but here another factor steps in. Not only are hybrids 



ENVmONMENT AND JAPANESE CHARACTER 45 

relatively infertile, but also they tend to be weak in other 
respects, both physically and morally. Hence they die out 
rapidly, as the Eurasians, the progeny of European fathers 
and Asiatic mothers, are doing in India. This principle 
would seem to apply directly to the Japanese. Various 
Mongoloid elements might well mingle and produce an endur- 
ing race just as the races of Europe appear to be able to mix 
freely. When it comes to the possibility of an important 
infusion of Malay blood, or still more of an Aryan admixture, 
the general principles of biology are distinctly counter to 
the probability that the progeny of these invaders of highly 
diverse races would persist for any great length of time. 

The second fact which militates against the theory that inter- 
mixture of races is the primary factor in the present charac- 
ter of the Japanese depends upon another biological princi- 
ple. When an alien race invades a new habitat there is not 
one chance in a hundred that its adaptation to that partic- 
ular environment will be equal to the adaptation of the 
original race. In rare cases the newcomers may be better 
adapted; usually they are at a disadvantage. How impor- 
tant this matter of adaptation is may be judged from the 
way in which the negro race tends to die off in our northern 
States in spite of constant immigration from the south. In 
the same way Scandinavians as a race cannot thrive in the 
drier, more sunny parts of America. They may succeed for 
a while, but statistics show that they tend to contract vari- 
ous diseases, especially of the nerves and skin. In the rainy 
regions on the coast of Oregon and Washington, on the 
contrary, where the environment resembles that of Scan- 
dinavia, they prosper greatly, both in body and estate. 
In the case of a mixture of races not only the invaders them- 
selves, as a general rule, but also the hybrids which tend 
toward the type of the newcomers, are distinctly at a dis- 
advantage. So long as they remain a ruling class with unu- 
sual opportunities to protect and care for themselves, they 
may persist, but gradual mixture with other elements of the 
population is bound to take place, and the type less adapted 
to the country slowly disappears. It was thus apparently 
with the energetic fair-haired invaders who are supposed to 



46 ELLSWORTH HUNTINGTON 

have come into Greece and Italy in ancient days from the 
north. For a while they seem to have been the dominating 
element and to have been one of the chief causes of the great 
achievements of the early Greeks and Romans. Today, how- 
ever, their inability to withstand the dry climate and the 
ravages of malaria has almost eliminated them in favor of the 
present less energetic brunette races. In Japan the same 
process of selection must have gone on during the long period 
since the supposed Malays or Aiyans reached the islands. 
Possibly the differences of feature and physique which are 
often said to exist between the upper and lower classes in Japan 
may preserve the record of an admixture of races ages long 
ago, but this does not explain why the Japanese, not only of 
one class but of all, are characterized by a degree of mental 
alertness much in excess of that of most of the people of Asia 
including the Chinese. 

We come now to the third and last of the reasons for think- 
ing that intermixture of races is not the chief cause of Japan's 
present advanced position. The variability of mixed races, 
whether among plants, animals, or man, is greatest imme- 
diately after the two parent types come together. There- 
after, not only does the new hybrid race tend, as we have 
just seen, to revert toward the type best fitted to the environ- 
ment, but there is a constant tendency for the offspring to 
vary less and less from the ultimate type which gradually 
becomes established as the standard. Hence in any race 
such as the Japanese exceptional mental brilliancy, so far 
as it is due to racial intermixture, is more frequent imme- 
diately after the amalgamation of the races. The Japanese 
are generally conceded to be remarkable for a high general 
average of mental development rather than for individuals 
of exceptional brilliancy. This is what would be expected. 
However great the amount of mixture of races may have 
been in Japan, most of it occurred two thousand or more 
years ago, and it was practically completed twelve hun- 
dred years ago. Since then forty generations have elapsed, 
a length of time sufficient to allow much progress toward 
the extinction of extreme variability and its accompany- 
ing intellectual brilliancy, and also toward approxima- 



ENVIRONMENT AND JAPANESE CHARACTER 47 

tion to the type normal to the country. Yet the Japan- 
ese show no indications of being less alert now than formerly. 
It must be borne in mind that the tendency to eliminate 
characteristics incompatible with physical surroundings is 
extremely strong. Every one knows how plants which 
have been produced by careful cross-breeding quickly return 
to the original type when left to themselves. Similarly 
among animals the best varieties of cattle or horses quickly 
revert to a primitive tyipe when allowed to run wild for a 
few generations. Inasmuch, then, as the Japanese have 
been without the infusion of new blood for a long time, it 
would seem from the point of view of the biologist and evo- 
lutionist that the race, no matter whether it is much or little 
mixed, has had a good opportunity to approximate to the 
type demanded by Japanese environment. 

The fact that the Japanese or any other race is mixed and 
is at the same time brilliant does not by any means prove 
that the brilliancy is due to the mixture. The Koreans 
appear to be as mixed as the Japanese; the Chinese of the 
north with their admixture of Tartar and Manchu blood are 
more mixed; the Persians and the people of northern India 
contain as many elements as the Chinese and perhaps more ; 
and probably no race under Heaven is so diverse in its 
origin as the so-called Turk with his infusion of Tartar, 
Kurdish, Armenian, Greek and Circasian blood; yet these 
mixed peoples do not stand particularly high in civilization. 
Against them may be put the English, Germans, Russians 
and Americans, all of whom are much mixed; but only the 
American is as mixed as the Turk. In the case of these 
last two the mixture has taken place comparatively recently 
and hence ought now to be producing its maximum effect. 
Yet the results in America and in Turkey are as diverse as 
can well be imagined. The Turkish mind is sluggish, while 
the American mind, whatever its other faults, can certainly 
not be accused of lack of alertness. 

We have seen that whether variations in a species arise 
from spontaneous variations or from the mixture of races 
their preservation and the consequent evolution of new types 
is largely, although indirectly a matter of environment. 



48 ELLSWORTH HUNTINGTON 

Following still the same line of thought, let us examine the 
position of biologists as to the direct action of environment 
upon evolution, the third of the theories advanced in expla- 
nations of the origin of races. Darwin and his immediate 
successors thought that physical circumstances were com- 
petent directly to stimulate organic changes which would 
adapt the individual to its peculiar circumstances. Later 
this view was disproved and the pendulum swung far into 
the opposite extreme. Now, as usual, opinion is settling 
to a compromise. No one doubts the importance of the 
influence of physical environment, especially climate, in 
weeding out certain characteristics and encouraging others. 
The horses of Arabia are slender, fleet and able to endure 
the lack of water because animals not possessing these traits 
have gradually been killed off by the harsh conditions of 
the desert. The horses of the Shetland Islands, on the con- 
trary, are short, stout and hairy because this particular type 
does not suffer injury from the cool damp cUmate. In this 
case we have no reason to suppose that the effect of climate 
extends beyond the selection of the type best fitted for pre- 
servation. The colts that were not slender and fleet died 
in the desert and those that were not plump and hairy died 
in the islands. Beyond this, however, lies a deeper ques- 
tion. Can a charge of environment induce a direct change 
in bodily form and functions? And if so, does that change 
become permanently heritable? Recent research seems to 
answer these questions in the affirmative. Exact observa- 
tions, indeed, are not numerous, but some of them are con- 
vincing, at least so far as plants and animals are concerned. 
One of the best examples of a permanent and heritable 
change due to changed climatic environment is found in a 
species of Capsella or shepherd's purse growing in Asia Minor. 
In the relatively moist lowlands close to the coast the plant has 
broad leaves, whitish flowers and stems 10 or 12 inches high. A 
highway leads from these regions to a plateau at an altitude 
of 6000 feet or more. Up this the seeds of the plant were 
apparently long ago carried by man and his animals; and 
now in the elevated habitat the plant has taken on certain 
alpine characteristics, including elongated roots, xerophitic 



ENVIRONMENT AND JAPANESE CHARACTER 49 

leaves, stems only one or two inches high, reddish flowers 
and a general increase of hairiness throughout the entire 
plant. When seeds are taken from the lowland and planted 
in the upland, as Zedbauer has found, the first generation of 
young plants possesses all of these new qualities. This is 
not surprising, for it is a matter of common observation that 
plants vary greatly according to the soil and still more the 
climatic conditions in which they are placed. The important 
point appears when the seeds of the plants which have been 
long in the upland environment are taken to other places, 
such as Vienna, where the climate is not at all alpine. There 
the new plants continue to show the characteristics of the 
upland environment. SUght changes indeed occur; the 
stems become an inch or so longer; the roots change to an 
equal extent; but the flowers and leaves retain practically 
all of the alpine characteristics. When the plants were cul- 
tivated for four successive generations in Vienna no further 
change was apparent. In this case therefore, it seems im- 
possible to avoid the conclusion that a change of climate 
induced pronouncedly new characteristics which another 
change of climate was not able to eradicate. That more 
such changes have not been observed seems to be due chiefly 
to lack of accurate observations upon species which have 
long been subject to a new environment. 

Among animals similar phenomena have been observed. 
For instance Sumner found that mice reared in a warm room 
differ considerably from those reared in a cold room in the 
mean length of the tail, foot, and ear; and these: differences 
were transmitted to the next generation. These facts have 
an additional importance because the differences were 
exactly those which distinguish northern and southern races 
of many animals. Further examples of a similar kind might 
be given, but enough has been said to point out the general 
trend of some of the most interesting of recent biological 
experiments. Among man it is probable that similar results 
follow upon changes of environment. For instance statis- 
tics show that the descendants of English colonists in Aus- 
tralia average taller than the English in general, and that 
they are slighter in proportion to their height, a difference 



50 ELLSWORTH HUNTINGTON 

closely analogous to that between the slender desert horses 
of Ai'abia and the plump ponies of Shetland. In America 
still more surprising results have been found. Boas has 
recently made measurements upon the American-born chil- 
dren of Jews from central Russia and Italians from Sicily. 
In the case of the Italians, who are long-headed, the children 
appear to be shorter-headed than their parents, while among 
the Jews, who are notably broad-headed, the children have 
longer heads than their parents. In other words, under the 
changed environment both alien types seem to take on new 
characteristics and to approach a type normal to the new 
environment. The results are so at variance with all the 
established conceptions of ethnologists that they have been 
received with much scepticism. Nevertheless there is no 
more reason for doubting that flowers can take on a pink 
tint in alpine surroundings, or that mice can have longer 
tails in hot countries than in cold, than for doubting that the 
bodily form of the human race can change. And if the bod- 
ily form can change, there is equally great probability that 
the mental character can alter. 

Before leaving the subject of the evolution of new char- 
acteristics and new races by means of changes in physical 
environment, it may be well to sum up the matter in accord- 
ance with the conclusions of MacDougal in an article upon 
''Organic Response," pubhshed in the American Naturalist 
for January, 1911. It seems to be proved that morpho- 
logical and physiological changes in both plants and animals 
can be occasioned by changes in geographical environment. 
So far as outward manifestations of form are concerned these 
changes take place quickly; that is, they appear in the first 
generation which grows up in the new environment, and do 
not vary greatly thereafter. Among animals the change 
may be somewhat slower, and it is also possible that internal 
variations in functions may take more than one generation 
for adjustment to the new conditions. The changes whether 
in form or function are not necessarily useful. They may 
indeed be distinctly injurious and may lead to the extinc- 
tion of the species. Changes of the kinds here considered 
have been proved to be transmissible from parents to off- 



ENVIRONMENT AND JAPANESE CHARACTER 51 

spring, and herein lies the most important feature of the 
whole matter. It appears, however, that the new environ- 
ment must have an opportunity to work upon the species 
for several or perhaps many generations before the new char- 
acteristics become permanently heritable and the trans- 
planted forms can be considered as capable of forming a 
new race. 

In this discussion of biological principles we seem to have 
wandered far from the Japanese, but this is by no means 
the case. In so far as man is the crowning product of bio- 
logical evolution he must be subject to the same laws as are 
plants and animals. So far as physiological processes are 
concerned we accept this conclusion absolutely. No intelli- 
gent person hesitates to allow the vaccine of a cow to be 
placed on his arm and to spread through his blood. We 
believe that the experiments made upon guinea pigs have a 
direct bearing upon problems of human physiology: and we 
talk calmly of the possibility of grafting the eye of a rabbit 
into the socket of a human being. In all these things we 
proclaim in the most positive fashion our faith that the bio- 
logical laws governing animals and man are the same. 
When it comes to the brain we acknowledge the same thing, 
although not quite so readily. Doubtless the human brain 
has capacities far beyond those of any other terrestrial 
creature, but even when we make this claim, we talk to a dog 
and are convinced that he remembers certain words and 
attaches to them the meaning that we do. 

If we accept the conclusions set forth above we are led to 
the following conclusion in regard to the Japanese. The 
mental alertness of the Japanese, the quality wherein they dif- 
fer from most of the rest of Asia and approach most nearly to 
the people of Europe and of North America north of Mexico, 
must have arisen from one of the three causes mentioned at 
the beginning of this paper, that is from spontaneous vari- 
ations, from the mixture of races, or from the direct action 
of geographical and especially climatic environment; but 
however it may have arisen, its preservation is owing to 
the presence of favorable geographic environment. I know 
that this statement is sweeping, but it should be understood 



52 ELLSWORTH HUNTINGTON 

that I do not advance it as something already proved but 
merely as the tentative conclusion to which we are led if 
we adopt the hypothesis that man's brain as well as his body 
is subject to the laws of biological evolution, and if, in addi- 
tion, we accept some of the latest, but as yet not universally 
accepted biological conclusions. 

With the understanding then that we are merely testing 
an hypothesis and not pretending to deal with proved facts, 
let us see whether there are any features of the geographic 
environment of Japan which lend support to our theory. 
The most important geographical characteristics of Japan are 
first its insular character and its position off the populous 
east coast of Asia; second, its mountainous topography and 
limited area of arable land; and third, its moist, variable 
climate. A score of other minor factors might be added, 
but I pass them by for lack of time. 

The insularity of Japan can here be discussed but briefly. 
Many authors have dwelt upon it, and its importance is 
universally recognized. Because of their constant and inti- 
mate contact with the sea the Japanese are skillful sailors, 
and in the future are likely to play a prominent role in the 
world's naval history. Moreover the surrounding seas 
render Japan comparatively safe from hostile attack, and 
thus free it from the necessity of constant watchfulness; and 
great armies like those of France, Germany, and Russia 
are unnecessary. The seas have thus done for Japan essen- 
tially what they have done for England, save that Japan, 
coming late into the comity of nations, has not been able to 
secure vast tracts of unoccupied colonial territory. Impor- 
tant as this is, I believe that there is another respect in which 
the service of the embracing ocean to Japan has been even 
greater. However the energetic quality of the Japanese 
mind may have originated, there can be little doubt that its 
preservation has been faciUtated by the separation of the 
island from the mainland. China has suffered again and 
again from being overrun in the northern parts by Tartars 
of various tribes and by Manchus or other people from the 
unproductive lands of the north and west. Korea in the 
same way has been subject to a constant influx of Chinese 



ENVIRONMENT AND JAPANESE CHARACTER 53 

while in the other countries of Asia from Turkey to India 
the coming in of aUen races has been on so large a scale as 
to be the dominant element in their history. Such migra- 
tions have produced two noteworthy effects. In the first 
place the wars and misery attendant upon them have often 
not merely checked the progress of civihzation for long 
periods, but have actually caused retrogression as in Persia. 
In the second place, where no such evil results have followed, 
there has nevertheless often been a great change in the direc- 
tion of progress, a fact well illustrated by the consequences 
of the great Teutonic migrations in Europe. Suppose that 
Japan had been exposed for two thousand years to the un- 
checked invasion of the races from the neighboring parts of 
Asia. What would have been the result? Her people today 
would not be the race that we now know, but a composite 
mixture, probably more akin to the Chinese than to the 
present Japanese. The chances are that, unless physical 
environment is responsible for character, the race would 
possess the relatively inert, and highly conservative qualities 
of the continentals rather than the alertness of the islanders. 
By shielding the Japanese ever since the time when their 
present characteristics first became evident the insularity of 
the country has been of the highest service. It has allowed 
essential traits to be preserved unmixed and to develop until 
now they are a permanent acquisition. The course of his- 
tory seems to show that races develop marked and peculiar 
characteristics and bring them to perfection and fruition 
only in relative seclusion where they are free to evolve 
their own ideas and character without constant hindrances 
from without. It was so with the early Greeks : the Hebrews 
of Judea, to whose later dissemination we owe practically 
all that the Jews have contributed to history, dwelt in a 
seclusion sharply in contrast with the cosmopolitan life of 
their kinsmen in Samaria and the rest of Palestine, and were 
preserved for century after century by the inaccessible 
character of their plateau: and the English have been able 
to make so marked an impression upon history in large meas- 
ure because of their long isolation in their tight little island. 
Thus it has been with Japan: Chinese have come into the 



54 ELLSWORTH HUNTINGTON 

country and so have Koreans, especially in the period from 
the fourth to the seventh centuries, but never in such num- 
bers as seriously to alter the racial composition of the people 
of the islands. To be sure the Japanese adopted Chinese 
methods in the seventh century as they have adopted those 
of Europe in the nineteenth, but in neither case did this mean 
an appreciable alteration in race, or a change in funda- 
mental character. Thus for two thousand years the insu- 
larity of the country has permitted it to pursue its way almost 
without respect to the rest of the world; the original racial 
characteristics which were in harmony with physical environ- 
ment have been preserved and fostered, while others have 
been eliminated by the inexorable process of natural selec- 
tion, until today the Japanese as a people are probably 
adapted to their environment more perfectly than is any 
other leading race. 

The topography of Japan is almost if not quite as impor- 
tant as its insularity. Used in the broad sense this includes 
not only the relief of the mountains, plains and valleys, 
but also the character of the coasts and their indentations, 
and a large number of other featm-es. From among the many 
qualities of the Japanese race which have been preserved and 
fostered by the conditions of physiographic environment 
constant and almost tireless industry stands out as one of 
the most widespread. By reason of the highly mountainous 
character of the country only from one-sixth to one-eighth 
of its area is now considered fit for cultivation. A thousand 
years ago a far smaller area appeared capable of utilization. 
When the growing number of the Japanese race at some 
early date seemed to threaten over-population several courses 
were open to the people, although they themselves were 
quite unconscious of the matter. One possibility was emi- 
gration, but this seems to have been resorted to very rarely 
because, until the advent of modern means of communica- 
tion, the insularity of the country was as effective in keeping 
people in as in keeping others out. Another possibiUty open 
to the increasing numbers of the Japanese was the method or 
lack of method characteristic of India. There the popula- 
tion goes on increasing at a rapid rate until famine, pesti- 



ENVIRONMENT AND JAPANESE CHARACTER 55 

lence, or war arises and sweeps off the surplus swarm of human 
beings Hke flies in autumn. Before the coming of the Eng- 
hsh, a hundred famines and pestilences never, so far as we 
can tell, stirred the native population to any new exertions 
or to the invention of new methods. A condition of mental 
apathy seems to have prevented or stifled all initiative. In 
Japan, as also in China, quite a different mental attitude 
prevailed, and a third and highly rational method was uncon- 
sciously adopted in order to meet the dangers of over-popula- 
tion. As the means of supporting life decreased relatively 
to the number of people, industry and economy increased. 
Among the people of India few or none seem to have pos- 
sessed the mental qualities which incited them to struggle 
against the ills of increasing poverty and scarcity of food, or 
at least few struggled with success. In China and Japan 
the number who thus struggled was large, and their success 
was ^reat. Thus the Chinese and Japanese acquired the 
admirable qualities of industry and economy or rather those 
members of the community who possessed them were able 
to rear strong healthy children who inherited the parental 
tendencies while the children of the idle and extravagant 
grew up weak in body and were gradually eliminated. 

Thus far the conditions of Japan and China appear to be 
alike. Now, however, we come to the influence of topog- 
raphy which together with climate seems to have been 
against the Chinese. The people of that sturdy race, in 
spite of their hard work and sparing lives have never been 
able to overcome the great natural disasters to which their 
country is subject. Throughout a large portion of China the 
winters are practically rainless and the crops depend upon 
the monsoon rains which normally begin at some time from 
April to June according to the latitude. Often the rains are 
delayed so that the crops of the great body of farmers who 
do not depend upon irrigation are ruined. Then when the 
rains finally come they fall with extreme violence, just as 
they do with us after a long drought, but even more severely 
because of the height of the mountains which border China 
on the west. The steepness of the mountains sheds the 
water at once causing enormous floods of a magnitude 



56 ELLSWORTH HUNTINGTON 

which it is hard for us to understand. When the waters 
reach the lowlands another physiographic feature, the vast 
level expanse of plain, causes the rivers to spread over 
thousands of square miles as has happened in recent years 
in both the Yangtze and Hoangho basins. The crops of 
millions of farmers who dwell in the great flat plains and use 
the water of the rivers for irrigation are thus ruined. The 
inevitable consequence of the combined droughts and floods 
is famine involving tens of millions of people. This not only 
works terrible havoc in the districts immediately affected, 
but bears severely upon all the surrounding areas. Hun- 
dreds of thousands of people, homeless and penniless for the 
nonce, wander hither and thither over the face of the land, 
begging where they can, stealing and plundering when beg- 
ging fails to afford a living. The result is that initiative and 
individual progressiveness are discouraged. A man's ability 
in improving his conditions has Uttle to do with the chances 
which he runs of falling into trouble. No one man, nor 
even a whole village, however energetic it may be, can do 
much to avert a famine which directly affects 20,000,000 
people. Thus there is verj^ little selective action. The man 
who is industrious is assuredly better off than his neighbor 
in ordmary years, but the man of a progressive turn of mind, 
the one who introduces improvement and by long labor carries 
them to fruition is no better off than his neighbor when the 
time of distress arrives. If the rain does not fall to replenish 
the brooks no amount of ditching and terracing will furnish 
the children with bread; and if hordes of starving refugees 
pour into a region, they are more apt to rob the prosperous 
than the poverty-stricken. Thus the very size of the Chin- 
ese mountains, rivers and plains, and the vastness of the 
disasters to which the land is subject have been a factor 
in promoting the inertia which is so prominent a trait 
of Chinese character, and which is the danger of every race 
unless there is some strong means of counteracting it. 

In Japan conditions are quite different. Industry and 
economy are at a premium just as in China, but energy in 
reclaiming new land or in adopting new methods is also at 
a premium. Japan is of course subject to great disasters 



ENVIRONMENT AND JAPANESE CHARACTER 57 

in the shape of famine, flood, fire, and storm, but these are 
never on the Chinese scale. The form of the land and its 
position prevent this. The rivers are all small and the area 
that can be flooded by any one of them is strictly limited. 
Similarly, disastrous droughts occur, but are never so de- 
vastating as in China. Japan, by reason of its mountains 
and of its position off the coast gets heavy rains, and these 
may be much diminished in dry years, but never so that the 
crops are absolutely ruined. There is never that complete- 
ness of failure which is so sad in China. Trouble and dis- 
tress may come, but they are always accompanied by a ray 
of hope. A man who reclaims an acre of land on the side 
of the mountain knows that even in the worst years he will 
reap a crop of some sort from it. Occasionally, during past 
days of misrule, he may have suffered loss from the people 
of a neighboring district who were wandering abroad by 
reason of distress at home, but this fear does not hang over 
him with a tithe as much force as in China. In a word, not 
only do the qualities of industry and economy reap as great 
a reward in Japan as in China, but because of the small 
scale of the country and its topographic diversity energy and 
initiative are fostered,, and the children of alert-minded 
parents have a better start than those who are sluggish. 

I have reserved chmate, the most important of geographic 
factors until the last. Already, to be sure we have been led 
into the discussion of the subject in connection with floods 
and droughts. Beyond this, however, lies a more interesting 
and more debatable field of research. Buckle has been 
laughed at and discredited because of his sweeping general- 
izations in respect to the influence of climate upon history 
and character. Doubtless he made absurd blunders, as 
every man with a great idea is bound to do. Yet if he were 
alive today and could weigh the new evidence which is 
continually being brought to light, I believe that his main 
contention would still seem to him true, and in the end I 
think it will be accepted by the world as a whole. In a nut- 
shell his theory was that physical environment determines 
the character and achievements of all the races of the world, 
and that climate is the most important of all the elements of 



58 ELLSWORTH HUNTINGTON 

physical environment. Such a theory, whether right or 
wrong, well deserves consideration. To dismiss it after the 
fashion of some writers, as a ''blanket theory" unworthy of 
further study is as unscientific as to accept it without proof. 
In the remainder of this article I propose to present two 
lines of evidence which seem to show that the climatic con- 
ditions of a country have far more to do with the mental 
condition of the inhabitants than is generally recognized. 
This is far from meaning that climate is the only factor. 
No one would claim for a moment that any climatic condi- 
tions, no matter how extreme, could overcome the influence 
of the inheritance derived from thousands of generations 
of ancestors. The most that is assumed in the present 
hypothesis is that climatic conditions can and do slightly 
modify inherited characteristics, just as we know to be the 
case in plants and animals, and that in course of time the 
conditions of any particular environment will pick out such 
variations either for preservation or extinction. 

The general relation of climate to the energy and ability 
of races is too well recognized to require much consideration. 
Of the 50,000,000 square miles of the earth's surface which 
consist of land lying outside the limits of the polar circles 
approximately half lies within 30 degrees of the equator. 
Yet, as Ireland has pointed out, from the races which are 
indigenous to this vast area or which have dwelt in it long 
enough to have been much modified by it there has never 
arisen any man except Mohammed who has the least claim 
to a place among the world's leaders. Gautama, the founder 
of Buddhism, although a native of India, was born and reared 
among the Himalayas almost exactly 30 degrees north of 
the equator. The great men of ancient Egypt, Ramses 
and his countrymen, lived for the most part in the Nile 
delta, which hes north of 30 degrees. Even Thebes, at 
the southernmost limit of the important portion of ancient 
Egypt lies only 4 degrees farther south. Similarly in Amer- 
ica, Diaz, the only Latin-American with a world-wide repu- 
tation is in reaHty a product of Spain, not of Mexico. 

Clear as the relation of climate and human achievement 
may be when the temperate and equatorial regions are 



ENVIRONMENT AND JAPANESE CHARACTER 59 

compared, it becomes much more complex when compari- 
sons are instituted between the various countries of the 
temperate zone. Let us hmit ourselves to the northern 
hemisphere, since the amount of land in the southern is 
small and the people there are largely recent iromigrants. 
We may divide the north temperate zone into two belts, 
one extending from latitude 30 to 45 and the other from 45 
degrees to the Arctic circle. In the more southern of the 
two belts we find countries occupying most diverse posi- 
tions in the scale of civilization. On one side of the Pacific 
stands our own country in the forefront of progress, while 
on the other Japan faces us on equal terms and in some re- 
spects beating us at our own game. Half way back to Amer- 
ica as one continues around the globe, lies Italy, one of the 
world's great powers, but noteworthy for the marked differ- 
ence between the energetic, capable people of the northern 
parts and the unstable, mercurial inhabitants of the south 
around Naples and in Sicily. 

None of the other countries in the belt between 30 degrees 
and 45 degrees have any claim to a place among the world's 
leaders. Spain, Greece, and Turkey are second rate powers 
whose limited modern achievements suffer sadly by compari- 
son with the past. Servia, Bulgaria, and Roumania deserve 
praise for what they are accomplishing, but in comparison 
with countries of similar size such as Switzerland, Belgium 
or Holland, they are far below the first rank. From Euro- 
pean Turkey and the vicinity of the Aegean Sea south- 
eastward the condition of the Turkish Empire becomes 
steadily more hopeless, not so much because of more war 
and misrule than in the Balkans but because the people are 
more apathetic. Persia, which lies for the most part between 
latitudes 30 and 40 resembles Turkey very closely in this 
respect and in many others, but its general condition is 
decidedly lower. Morocco and Tripoli are, if anything, 
worse off than Persia, and this low level is maintained in 
Afghanistan and Tibet. I omit Algiers, Tunis, and Egypt, 
because their present prosperity is due entirely to France 
and England. Finally we come to China where conditions 
again improve over those in Central Asia, and are in many 



60 ELLSWORTH HUNTINGTON 

respects about as advanced as in Turkey. In the face of 
such a congeries of nations it is manifest that latitude and 
mean temperature have practically nothing to do with a 
country's position in the scale of civilization. The coun- 
tries in the belt under consideration stand decidedly higher 
than those of equatorial regions ; and in this we can probably 
see the influence of lower temperature, and of greater varia- 
tions from the mean temperature. The constant recurrence 
of winter with the accompanying necessity for forethought 
and industry in order to have means of subsistence was 
probably one of the chief factors in originally advancing 
the temperate zone faster than the tropics. 

Turning now to the most northerly belt of nations we find 
that on the whole they stand much higher than those to the 
south of them, but here, too, there are great divergencies. 
Canada, Great Britain, France, the Netherlands, the Scan- 
dinavian countries, Germany, Switzerland and Austria all 
stand in the front rank. So, also, does Russia in many re- 
spects. Finland, the Baltic provinces, and the northwest- 
ern part of the country in general doubtless deserve a posi- 
tion well up among the nations. Southeastward, however, 
toward the Caspian Sea and in the Asiatic provinces of 
Turkestan there is a great falling off. The indigenous inhab- 
itants of those regions occupy a position not far removed 
from that which prevails in the better parts of Turkey. 
East of the Urals in Siberia a similar phenomenon prevails. 
The western part of the country is fairly progressive and is 
filling up with Russian colonists after the fashion of the 
western plains of the United States and Canada. In the 
vast eastern haK stagnation prevails. The native races 
are inert and unprogressive, Russian influence is able to 
penetrate but slowly, and we have no assurance that much 
progress is ever to be possible. 

The attempt to find some common factor or factors which 
should explain the predominance of certain nations and the 
differences between nations Hving as close to one another as 
Japan and China or Austria and Turkey has hitherto met 
with little success. The facts in regard to Japan seem to 
make it evident that these differences are not a matter of 



ENVIRONMENT AND JAPANESE CHARACTER 61 

religion: only by a series of unproved though interesting 
hypotheses can they be ascribed to the presence of any par- 
ticular race: and conditions of temperature and rainfall, or 
the succession of the seasons, — that is the features of climate, 
as ordinarily understood, — furnish equally unsatisfactory 
explanations. A few writers have thought that one of the 
chief factors in explaining racial differences might perhaps 
be found in the degree of variability of the climate in the 
respective countries. They point to the fact that in general 
mankind is most progressive in places where there is not 
only a marked difference between summer and winter, but 
also where there are frequent variations from day to day. 
The writer has pointed out that one reason for the difference 
between the sluggish character of the people of western and 
central Asia and of countries like the United States may be 
the number of storms. All through the summer months 
in large portions of Asia rain is practically unknown; and 
even in the autumn, storms come so slowly that there is no 
sudden change. In the United States the farmer and every- 
one whose work is out of doors is forced to be constantly 
on the watch to guard against the exigencies of the weather. 
If the hay is down the farmer must be ready to work furi- 
ously in order to get it in before a threatened storm arrives : 
in the fall the prospect of a frost often urges him to work 
at a rate which he would never think of otherwise. Thus 
for generations, not only in America, but in western Europe 
where conditions are similar, the farmers or other out-of-door 
workers who were not alert and were not so constituted that 
they could and would make strenuous exertions, have been 
at a great disadvantage. They have tended to grow poorer 
and poorer and gradually to sink into the lower stratum of 
society where the children are ill-nourished and die for the 
most part before reaching maturity. In the almost storm- 
less lands of Asia, on the contrary, no such stimulation and 
selection take place. The harvest is finished during a 
period when the farmer is practically certain that no storms 
will come up to injure it. In the fall the cold weather ap- 
proaches slowly and gradually, and there are long warnings 
before the breaking of the first harmful storms. Hence the 



62 ELLSWORTH HUNTINGTON 

man who works deliberately is quite as well off as the one 
who is alert and active. 

In spite of hypotheses like the one just given, the relation of 
changes in the weather to the advancement of civilization has 
till now been a hazy matter. It remained for Professor 
C. J. Kullmer of Syracuse University to formulate a brilliant 
hypothesis which at a single stroke opens a place for hundreds 



of hitherto unrelated facts. The reasonable nature of the 
hypothesis is so obvious when once pointed out, that it 
scarcely seems credible that the world should have so long 
been blind to it. The accompanying figure shows a map of 
the northern hemisphere with the north pole in the center. 
Upon it has been plotted the frequency of cyclonic storms. 
The term cyclonic storm in the vocabulary of the meteor- 
ologist does not mean something severe like a tornado, but 



ENVIRONMENT AND JAPANESE CHARACTER 63 

merely the ordinary type of storm prevalent in the United 
States and Europe. The storm consists essentially of an 
area of low pressure which may be a thousand miles in diam- 
eter, and which moves across the country with a general 
easterly trend. Winds from all sides blow obliquely toward 
the center. On the east side, or in front of such a storm 
east winds prevail, while behind it the movement of the air 
is from the west. In the central parts of the cyclonic area 
the air is rising because of the low pressure, clouds are formed, 
and rain falls. Storms of this type, as everyone knows, are 
our main source of rainfall throughout the year. In other 
parts of the world, for instance in the tropics or in the mon- 
soon regions of northern India and most of China the rainfall 
does not come from cyclonic storms but from brief showers 
often accompanied by thunder, but not characterised by 
large areas of low pressure. During the course of a thunder- 
shower or of the other showers which produce rain in such 
regions the barometer may fluctuate rapidly for a few hours, 
but in general it remains steady. 

The cyclonic storms of temperate regions move in well- 
defined tracks which are observed and mapped by the various 
weather bureaus. From the data thus furnished it is a sim- 
ple matter to insert on a map the average number of storms 
whose centers each year pass through a given area. In the 
present case the unit is a rectangle five degrees long on each 
side. The number ten on the map means that on an average, 
during the years for which the data have been examined by 
Dunwoody, the centers of ten storms passed over all points on 
the line, while the edges of many more storms passed that 
way. Inside the line the number of storms increases, while 
outside the number decreases. 

Examination of the map, as Kullmer points out, shows at 
once that the area included within the line of ten storms 
embraces all the leading countries of the world. North 
America possesses the area of maximum storm frequency 
with its center in southern Canada, while the region of abun- 
dant storminess extends over all of the United States except 
the far south and southwest. In Europe the chief countries 
all come within the line of ten storms, Great Britain, France, 



64 ELLSWORTH HUNTINGTON 

the Netherlands, the Scandinavian countries, Switzerland, 
Germany, Austria, Italy except for the southern part, and 
finally the northern and western portions of Russia. Most 
significant of all, Japan, the one country of Asia which rises 
to the European level of achievement, is the only Asiatic 
country subject to frequent cyclonic storms. 

The remarkable case of Japan has been seized upon by 
Kullmer as the strongest possible reason for believing that 
the storm track hypothesis offers an adequate explanation 
of the peculiar distribution of intellectual attainments among 
the nations. It may be that the Chinese, as many authori- 
ties hold, are possessed of as great mental ability as the Jap- 
anese or any other race. Kullmer's hypothesis does not 
attempt to settle the matter. It merely postulates that the 
occurrence of storms is a mental stimulant, and that this 
stimulant does not now apply to China. Those who have 
most faith in the Chinese often say that that race is the equal 
of any in the world, but they are forced to add that this is 
not now apparent because the Chinese have not yet waked 
up. Perhaps contact with other races will wake them up, 
but of this we are not sure. Once they were awake, two 
thousand years ago. That was when the Greeks were awake 
and the Jews and other people of the ancient empires. 
In those days, apparently, storms were more frequent than 
now in the countries which have gone to sleep. I cannot 
here go into the matter of changes of climate, but years of 
work in Asia and recent investigations of ruins and lakes 
and of the rate of growth of ancient trees in America have 
convinced me that pronounced changes of climate have taken 
place both in the eastern and western hemispheres. The 
changes thus inferred are of exactly the kind which would 
increase the storminess of the parts of the world where civi- 
hzation has decayed. 

An hypothesis such as this of the relation of the storm track 
to civihzation needs severe testing. Kullmer has begun to 
test it by comparing bank deposits and other evidences of 
thrift and energy in various parts of America, on the one 
hand, with the number of storms on the other hand. An- 
other method lies in measuring the direct effect of cyclonic 



ENVIRONMENT AND JAPANESE CHARACTER 65 

storms. As yet only a beginning has been made along this 
line. Lehmann in Copenhagen made measurements of the 
strength of three individuals for over a year and reached 
some interesting results. He found that during the half 
year from the end of November to May, as he puts it, or 
from October to May, as his curves show, muscular strength 
increases with a rising barometer and decreases when the 
barometer falls . During the other half of the year he detected 
no direct relation, possibly because his observations were 
interrupted by a journey, possibly because of the method used 
in averaging the work, and possibly because there is no direct 
relation at that time. An examination of his curves, how- 
ever, shows frequent cases of a direct relationship at all 
seasons. The fact probably is, that the relation exists at 
all times, but in the summer and autumn when barometric 
changes are less marked than in winter and spring, changes 
in the strength of human beings because of that cause are 
masked by other variations due to temperature and the inci- 
dental matters of occupation and health which are continu- 
ally influencing mankind. Strangely enough Lehmann's 
work seems to show conclusively that although the small 
barometric changes connected with cyclonic storms produce 
a direct effect upon the strength of the human body, large 
changes such as those involved in a change of residence from 
sea level to an altitude of two or three thousand feet produce 
no corresponding effect. The bodily functions become ad- 
justed so quickly, especially in the case of an ascent that no 
disarrangement or diminution of strength occurs unless the 
altitude becomes sufficient to interfere with breathing. 
Lehmann made a short series of tests to determine the rela- 
tion of mental as well as physical activity to the barometer. 
His methods were not accurate enough to give positive results 
but he concluded that in general the condition of the mind 
varies with that of the body, and hence that the brain is 
stimulated by a rise of pressiu-e. 

T have had the good fortune to be able to test this matter 
further and by means more accurate than those employed 
by Lehmann. Professor J. McK. Cattell of Columbia 
University made a series of tests upon three children daily 



66 ELLSWORTH HUNTINGTON 

for an entire year, and thereafter weekly for another year 
Each child wrote out on the typewriter the first stanza of 
Spenser's ''Faerie Queen" each day, and then copied a new 
page from the same poem. The length of time for each 
operation and the number of errors in copying the stanza 
that was repeated daily were recorded. Thus in three ways, 
speed, accuracy, and memory, it is possible to test the chil- 
dren's state of mind. Professor Cattell's purpose was the 
determination of the rate and manner in which skill in the 
use of the typewriter increases. His figures, however, are 
equally useful for the purpose of comparison with the changes 
of weather, and to this end he has kindly put them at my 
disposal. The results are unmistakable even in the present 
incomplete state of the calculations. In spite of the hundred 
and one accidents which might influence the children's 
minds, the effect of the barometer is clearly apparent. In 
one case an individual curve for more than a month runs 
almost absolutely parallel to the fluctuations of the barom- 
eter. In other cases a seeming disagreement turns out 
on closer examination to be a striking agreement. For 
instance in one instance the combined curve of all the chil- 
dren, that is the average of all, falls for a week, showing 
that sickness or colds or some other undefined cause was at 
work slowing them up. The barometric curve keeps on in 
its usual sinuous course and at the first glance seems quite 
unrelated to the ability of the children to write rapidly and 
accurately. Nevertheless the relationsip is there. The 
children's ability decreased, as has been said, but not stead- 
ily. Each time that the barometer rose, the fall in the chil- 
dren's ability was checked, so that the line for that day slopes 
only very slightly, while on other days when the barometer 
was falling the children's line drops rapidly. On the whole 
the agreement between mental activity, including speed, 
accuracy, and power of memory is so close as to be beyond 
question. For generations we have been talking about the 
weather and its influence, and now it appears that we can 
actually measure the amount of additional work which a 
man can do because of the passing of a storm. Other ele- 
ments, such as temperature, humidity, and sunshine play 



ENVIRONMENT AND JAPANESE CHARACTER 67 

an important part, but the dominating influence appears to 
be changes in the barometer. Why this is so we can only 
guess. The fact remains that in the only cases where it 
has been tested it is true, and the more rapid the succession 
of storms the greater is their influence. 

Probably the relation between mental work and atmos- 
pheric pressure is analogous to that between the growth of 
plants and temperature. Each species of plant has a certain 
optimum, or temperature most favorable for growth. 
Nevertheless a plant is not helped by being kept permanently 
at that temperature. It will grow far better if the air is 
sometimes cooler and sometimes warmer than the optimum. 
Repeated fluctuations back and forth from day to day or 
between day and night are the most stimulating conditions, 
provided the average temperature is not far from the opti- 
mum and the departures from that point are not too great. 
Apparently something similar takes place in the human 
brain. Day by day the brain, especially in childhood it 
would seem, is alternately stimulated and checked. The 
checks give rest, the stimulus creates or encourages the habit 
and capacity for strenuous exertion. Some brains are doubt- 
less more and others less sensitive to such barometric stimuli. 
In a country of uniform conditions and slow changes like 
Central Asia or the tropics neither type would have any 
special advantage. In a country like Japan characterized 
by frequent changes the brains susceptible to the stimuli 
would work actively and certain individuals by means of 
greater power of thought and action would succeed while 
those who were not subject to the stimuli would be worsted. 
Thus, it would seem that in Japan a certain type of mind has 
been selected and preserved by reason of the stormy climate. 
The type is the same as that which prevails in western Europe 
and North America, and quite different from that of the 
rest of Asia. If this is so, it is most fortunate for Japan. 
For China and for many other nations it may seen unfor- 
tunate, but perhaps the future is not so dark as would appear. 
The knowledge of a disease is the first step toward the remedy. 
If the mind needs a stimulus, science must invent one. 



SOME OF THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF FEUDAL 
JAPAN TO THE NEW JAPAN^ 

By K. Asakawa, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Japanese Civili- 
zation, Yale University 

Feudalism as the ruling political machinery of Japan re- 
ceived its first imperial sanction about 1 185. The long period 
from this date down to the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate 
in 1868 — an interval of nearly seven centuries — is popularly 
known as the feudal ages of Japanese history. This period 
may be divided into two, with the battle of Sekigahar a fought 
in 1600 as the dividing point. The first part, about 1185 to 
1600, witnessed a succession of civil wars, which occurred 
at first at long intervals, but, after the fourteenth century, 
continually and in growing intensity; the second part, 1600 
to 1868, constituting a long reign of peace, coincides with the 
rule of the Tokugawa "Shoguns," or suzerains, at Edo. 

It is evident that so long a period of feudal rule could not 
pass away without making deep impressions on the national 
life and character of the Japanese. It is equally evident 
that the study of so colossal a subject as the contributions 
from feudal Japan to New Japan could not be compassed by 
any one student; and that even a very partial and cursory 
survey, such as I venture to present in this paper, of so vast 
a theme, could hardly be attempted without making serious 
omissions and without recourse to glaring generahzations. 

To enumerate a few political contributions. It was under 
the feudal regime, that, late in the thirteenth century, Japan 

^Address delivered during the Clark University Conference on Japan and 
Japanese-American Relations. 

68 



CONTRIBUTIONS OF FEUDAL JAPAN TO NEW JAPAN 69 

repelled the Mongol invasions, and thereby saved herself 
from a possible foreign conquest; and that, in the sixteenth 
and seventeenth century, she prevented dangers to her safety 
as a sovereign state that, it was feared, might come from the 
so-called ''colonizing" nations of southern Europe, the Por- 
tuguese and the Spanish, by prohibiting their activity in Japan 
either in trade or in religious propagation. It was also under 
the feudal rule that, at the end of the twelfth century, Japan 
definitively reduced the two extreme northern provinces of 
the main island, Mutsu and Dewa, to submission to the cen- 
tral authorities; and that, four centuries later, she extended 
her suzerainty over the northern island of Yezo and the 
southern archipelago of Ryukyu (Loo-choo). In short, feu- 
dalism created for Japan military forces such as the earlier 
bureaucratic regime had failed to give her, and, by this 
means, she was enabled to preserve her territory intact and 
to greatly extend it. 

In matters of culture, also, the feudal ages made important 
contributions to Japan which a non-military society could 
hardly have made, in the form, among other things, of the Zen 
Buddhism with its extensive, subtle and profound influence 
upon national character and culture. It is true that the 
extremely rigorous methods of Zen were cultivated only by 
a chosen few who were capable of an intense and sustained 
application of the mind, and attracted even less followers 
in the peaceful period after 1600 than during the preceding 
epoch of civil strife. If the tenets of Zen were not popular, 
however, the spirit of Zen pervaded all classes of people, and 
directly or indirectly influenced all forms of Japanese cul- 
ture. It was the spirit of reserve, collected force, and not 
primitive but deeply studied simplicity; it was a spirit which 
sought to compress the deepest meaning into the simplest 
form, and to put the most concentrated energy under the 
most perfect control. Zen both vitalized and chastened 
Japanese nature and its expression. This double influence 
may be amply seen in all the fine arts of the feudal ages — 
painting, specially of landscapes, calligraphy, architecture, and 
music; in all the martial arts; in literature; in the aesthetic 
and social taste and style; in customs and manners; and 



70 K. ASAKAWA 

in many details of common daily life. Zen, of course, was 
not the only controlling factor, but exerted its influence upon 
the Japanese side by sido with other forces which had come 
down from the earlier ages and with still others which devel- 
oped after 1600. Zen, however, constituted an ever-present 
ideal and heritage which is even now perceptible everywhere, 
and which could be developed only in so robust a feudal 
society as existed in Japan for seven long centuries. Zen is 
the great element of the Japanese character which has yet 
been the most inadequately interpreted to the outer world, 
and which, at any event, is perhaps the least intelligible to 
the American mind. 

We cannot tarry longer on this point, for, important and 
precious as all these and other contributions are, and profit- 
ably as they may be enlarged upon, we are in this discourse 
concerned primarily with some other contributions of feudal 
Japan — with those contributions, that is, which have had 
a special bearing on Japan's activity as a modern nation. 
What does New Japan owe to feudal Japan that has pro- 
moted her national life under modern conditions? 

Of some of the contributions of this character of which 
I may claim partial knowledge, it is possible to point out two 
aspects, moral and social. What peculiar moral life has been 
inherited from the feudal era, and what peculiar social organ- 
ization had produced it and was sustained by it? The form 
of this question suggests, and the following discourse will 
show, how inseparably these two phases were bound up with 
each other; it is purely for the sake of discussion that I am 
obliged to divorce them one from the other as if they were 
not, as in reality they were, two sides of one and the same 
substance. 

Moral Life 

The pre-feudal culture 

The seven centuries of feudalism were preceded by about 
four centuries (794 to c. 1185) of court culture at Kyoto, the 
imperial capital. This culture was, in its essential character- 
istics, aristocratic, effeminate, and emotional. Its point of 



CONTRIBUTIONS OF FEUDAL JAPAN TO NEW JAPAN 71 

view was mainly aesthetic, non-ethical; the denizens of the 
court, ladies and lady-like men, concerned themselves, not 
so much about the right or wrong of their conduct, as about 
the propriety and gracefulness of their behavior. Rather 
than asking what ought to be said or done under a given 
circumstance, they inquired how to say or do things approved 
by common consent to be good form and pleasing.. Their 
culture was modal; while it excelled in grace and gentility, 
it lacked strength and variety. Its points of contact with the 
individual were dull and void of thrill, for it hardly touched 
his capacity for strenuous effort or self-denying enthusiasm. 
If you picture in your mind the French court life under the 
old regime as revealed in the memoirs of courtiers and in 
some of Dumas' novels, and in your imagination subtracted 
from this picture the qualities of dash and extravagance 
which were not absent in reality, you will have produced a 
likely replica of the court culture of the Kyoto of the 
tenth century. 

The very religion in vogue had changed its nature : Bud- 
dhism had now become highly and elaborately artistic, and its 
ritualism developed to a point of complexity that has never 
since been equalled. This formal and aesthetic Buddhism 
was, in certain respects, further enervating the social fabric 
alread}^ enfeebled by the over-abundant culture of the time; 
it was absorbing the landed wealth and engrossing the per- 
sonal devotion of the nation to an alarming extent. Had 
the condition been allowed to persist longer, Buddhism and 
Japan might not inconceivably have gone on corrupting each 
other, and in her archipelago history might have found 
another Ceylon or Tibet. 

The feudal point of view 

Fortunately this state of things obtained only at the capi- 
tal. A step away from Kyoto, and everywhere over the 
land, one would see great social changes slowly but irresisti- 
bly taking place through the course of these five centuries, 
which were destined not only to save Japan from the fate 
that otherwise seemed to await her future, but also to enable 



72 K. ASAKAWA 

her to reconstruct the moral Hfe of the nation on a radically 
new foundation. 

For the first time in Japanese history there grew up a new 
class of warriors who were knit together by essentially per- 
sonal relationships of fidelity and loyalty. For the first time, 
the men were inspired by a keen sense of individual honor, 
which they guarded with the sword; honor was valued higher 
than life, men staking their lives in contests for the honor of 
their lords, their famihes, and themselves, and even taking 
their own lives when it was thought that honor was irre- 
vocably lost or that death alone could save honor. These 
two moral principles, personal fidelity and individual honor, 
were, as may be realized, needed by the very nature of the 
feudal society, and were cultivated by the men with incredi- 
ble rigor. Then after the beginning of the feudal regime, 
these same qualities were put to a severe and sustained test 
during the centuries, first, of disciphne, and then, of actual 
warfare, and thereby were much trained and tempered. 

New Buddhism 

New forms of Buddhism now prevailed among the warriors 
to meet their spiritual needs, for the old ritualistic forms, 
which once fascinated the courtiers of Kyoto, hardly satisfied 
the longings of the sworded men for virile doctrines and for 
direct roads to salvation. The Zen Buddhism, to which 
reference has been made, sought to gratify the former, and 
the Zhodo and Nichiren the latter of these spiritual demands. 
Zen required a bold and intense mode of mental concentration. 
It was designed to break down the fetters that were said to 
bind the man to his blind and timid selfishness ; it otherwise 
trained the disciple in the art of subduing obstacles that 
unenlightened mortals persist in throwing in their own paths, 
and of summoning one's mental and physical powers at a 
moment's call and bending them upon the execution of a 
given object in view. The methods of the Zhodo and Nichi- 
ren sects were an antipode to those of the Zen; the former 
dispensed with self-disciphne as a means of enUghtenment, 
but taught an absolute faith in the saving power, respectively, 



CONTRIBUTIONS OF FEUDAL JAPAN TO NEW JAPAN 73 

of a Buddha and of the truth embodied in a sacred book. 
It would seem that, before 1600, the robust methods of Zen 
gained greater popularity among the warriors than the gentle 
tenets of the other two denominations. 

Confucian influence 

To these spiritual factors were added, after 1600, moral 
teachings of Confucianism. They emphasized order and 
security to be obtained by the loyalty of the lower and the 
benevolence of the upper party in all human relationships, 
political, social and domestic. Of these relationships, the 
Confucianism adopted in the feudal Japan of this period 
considered as of first importance the relation between ruler 
and ruled. 

The case of Confucianism affords a remarkable illustration 
of the truth, which is too readily forgotten, that no religious 
or moral doctrine that does not meet actual needs of society 
may be forced upon it; and that society in any given country 
and at any given period successfully adopts only such teach- 
ings as it has produced or has selected for their suitability 
to its material and moral welfare. Confucianism had begun 
to be studied in Japan at least one thousand years before 
1600, but during this long interval there had been only indi- 
viduals, not classes or communities, that accepted its more 
purely ethical precepts as their life-principles. That certain 
practical phases of Confucian ethics came to be universally 
studied in the feudal Japan in the late period under the Toku- 
gawa suzerains was due to the general belief that they would 
serve now better than in any earlier age to secure the stability 
of the existing society; they were found to afford admirably 
clear and concise names and systems to the virtues that had 
grown up in Japan independently of Confucianism, and 
that had now been consciously employed, in a further devel- 
oped form, as the foundation of the power of the feudal 
authorities and of the peace and order of the realm. 



74 K. ASAKAWA 

The Bushido: History of its basic virtues 

The code of ethics that resulted from the combination of 
these and other moral elements of the feudal ages is what 
is often called the "bushido," the term familiarized to Occi- 
dental readers by Dr. Nitobe's interesting exposition. The 
"bushido" was remarkably complex in its composition, for 
Japanese, Chinese, and Indian influences had contributed 
to its formation; yet it appeared singularly homogeneous and 
coherent, as its elements had been fused together during 
centuries of hard discipline and constant and universal prac- 
tice. 

Its foundation would seem to have been loyalty — loyalty 
to one's lord, or to any man or matter upon which he has 
set his heart — upheld by a sterling sense of personal honor. 

Let us not forget for a moment,however,that the" bushido," 
in its long history, was not always characterized by constant 
fidelity between lord and vassal. That there was a large 
element of opportunism among the "samurai" during the 
period of civil war (before 1600), manifesting itself too 
often in unnatural and revolting crimes of treachery and 
murder among men bound together by the closest ties of 
fealty or blood-relationship, may be seen by any cursory 
reader of the annals of these dark ages. The opening pages of 
the chronicle To-dai Ki present acts after acts that would 
parallel some of the blackest exploits of Machiavellian politics 
recorded of the sixteenth century Italy. That these enormi- 
ties should be, as they were, perpetrated in Japan at the same 
time that noble acts of valor and loyalty were frequent, com- 
mitted not seldom by the very same persons, suggests the 
deep interest of the social psychology of the time. And the 
same fact will also indicate the need of a historical presenta- 
tion of the "bushido," which has scarcely been attempted 
by any writer from a purely objective standpoint; it is obvi- 
ously as impossible to present a true static description of so 
dynamic a growth as the "bushido, "^ as it would be to make 

^Captain Brinkley's chapter on the "bushido" (Oriental Series; Japan, 
vol. II, chap. 5) appears to deal mainly with the two or three centuries prior 
to 1600, while Dr. Nitobe's well-known work (Bushido) seems to be based 



CONTRIBUTIONS OF FEUDAL JAPAN TO NEW JAPAN 75 

a general analysis of Christianity that at once is true of any 
one period of its history and does justice to its central truths. 
The only conscientious method of describing any remarkable 
historical development would seem to be the historical one. 

Were the changing phases of the ''bushido" studied in the 
spirit of seeking truth, it would be found, I think, that it 
was only after 1600 that the feudal rulers were, thanks to 
the peculiar social condition in which they found themselves, 
enabled at length to institute a rigorous and effective system 
of training designed to purge the ^'bushido" as thoroughly 
as possible of the element of opportunism that had vitiated 
it. A tremendous machinery of education was it that was 
then elaborated with this object in view, but space forbids 
a description even of its larger features. Suffice it to say 
that this system of training proved remarkably effective in 
accomplishing its first aim, but somewhat at the expense of 
the true life and vigor of the historic code. Just as the expo- 
sition of the social ethics of ancient China by Confucius and 
Mencius was designed to compensate the actual decline of 
its practice then taking place by teaching an increased con- 
sciousness of its principles, so in a like manner the idealiza- 
tion and systematization of the '^bushido" in Japan under 
the Tokugawa shoguns indicated in fact a perceptible deteri- 
oration of its vitality. When the feudal classes learned to 
regard opportunism as hateful and unworthy of them, the 
whole body of this knightly code had become a little inflexible 
and punctilious. The long reign of peace after 1600, during 
which the martial arts were trained but not used, contributed 
to the same result in the ''bushido." 

Even in this state, however, the ''bushido" was an im- 
mense potential energy; and it acquired an unexpected lease 
of life in the middle of the nineteenth century, when thou- 

primarily on the perfected ideal code of the Edo period. Since they take 
up two different periods for the most part, these two works, mutually contra- 
dictory as their accounts may often seem, hardly correct each other. Nor 
may they properly be said to supplement each other, for, though largely 
concerned with different epochs, neither professes to be historical in method, 
but both treat the subject in a manner to lead the reader to suppose that 
they discuss it in its entirety. They serve, however, as valuable intro- 
ductions to more accurate discussions of this subject which are still to come. 



76 K. ASAKAWA 

sands of men were suddenly animated by its thrilling power, 
and brought about the great upheaval that resulted in the 
destruction of the feudal regime. Feudalism was killed by 
the moral spirit it had nursed, when that spirit was liberated 
by revolution and fastened itself to the cause of national 
unity and imperial sovereignty. 

Other factors of the ''bushido" 

I have said that the ''bushido" was complex in origin 
though homogeneous in fusion. While its basic virtues were, 
it would seem, loyalty and sense of honor, it also was char- 
acterized, nearly at all times though in varying degrees at 
different times and in different persons, at least by the follow- 
ing moral tendencies : — contentment in simple material com- 
fort, and disdain of lucre; the gallant surrender by the ''sam- 
urai" of all that was of earthly value, including his very life, 
when it stood in the way of his fulfillment of a promised word 
of friendship and devotion, often resulting in sacrifices which 
would be considered unnecessary by Occidental observers; 
rigorous self-control and reserve; a habitually reflective and 
self-examining turn of mind, so that one's personal honor 
might be guarded, not with dense vanity and blind self- 
assertiveness, but with a clear conviction of its last irreduci- 
ble claim; the habit of minute consideration and precise 
coordination of matters relating to the execution of any 
important plan of action — the training of a vision for the 
law of causality so habitual as almost to amount to a mental 
sport; the constant chastening of the mind so as to be able 
to meet more perplexing crises with greater coolness and 
assurance; the power to summon one's physical and mental 
resources at an instant's call, to intensify them if possible, 
and focus them on the consummation of one supreme act 
demanded by the exigency of the moment. To these must be 
added the delicacy of sentiment in regard to other members 
of society, attended not only by minute rules of etiquette, 
but also by quick adjustment of one's expression and behavior 
to suit different parties and varying moods and circumstances. 
The last but not the least factor, which had developed prin- 



CONTRIBUTIONS OF FEUDAL JAPAN TO NEW JAPAN 77 

cipally among courtiers at Kyoto of the pre-feudal period, 
but which was cultivated in new forms throughout the feudal 
ages, was often called by the historic phrase, mono no aware 
wo shiru, literally, 'Ho be sensible of the pathos of things," 
and in fact denoted a cultivation of the heart. It meant 
capacity for ready appreciation and cheerful response to a 
call for human sympathy; it manifested itself in intimate 
love of nature, in aesthetic enjoyment of the beauty alike 
of art and of human conduct, and in applause of the enemy's 
valor and sympathy for his fall. The fundamental unity 
of these apparently incongruous phases of conduct may be 
felt only by the aesthetic-moral sense of the ''samurai." 

The whole "bushi" 

It should once more be emphasized that these component 
qualities of the " bushido " were in practice considered seldom 
as separate elements, but as one coherent body of moral 
values, a veritable moral atmosphere which surrounded all 
"samurai" and which was imbibed by each. There was to 
be no specialization of the different virtues among different 
men, but each and every man was taught and expected to 
realize in himself, according to his nature and training, all 
of the virtues as a simple code of conduct. This was the 
ideal of the whole man in feudal Japan, and the ideal was 
taught and practised rigorously and with large success. You 
will appreciate the difference between those ages and ours 
as regards both the ideal and the degree of its realization. 
We fail to observe in this twentieth century any ideal for 
an all-round man which is attended by a social sanction 
more powerful than that of rehgion, or a universal inculca- 
tion and practice of any, even a partial, ideal which thrills 
and unites all members of society. 

Skepticism and blind praise 

It is difficult, therefore, for us to portray in our minds the 
actual state of feudal Japan animated by the "bushido. " 
And the very difficulty is liable to lead one to fancy either 
that all descriptions of the moral life of that society must be 



/8 K. ASAKAWA 

grossly exaggerated, or that, on the contrary, Japan under 
the Tokugawa rulers must have been a paradise in which 
the virtues of fidelity and honor were in perfect practice. 
I am afraid that the first skeptical view is largely justified 
as a reaction against the current dithyrambic tales of Japanese 
feudal perfections; it, however, falls short of true criticism, 
since it does not consider the historical fact that the needs 
of maintaining the peculiar form of feudal society in Japan, 
especially after 1600, made it imperative that its units should, 
as far as could be accomplished through human agencies, 
be well-rounded men of the" bushid5. " Otherwise the society 
would have been unstable and have readily succumbed to 
disintegrating forces. 

As for the blind praise for feudal Japan, it is necessary 
to qualify it with the consideration that there were many 
lapses from the ideal, and that these were usually followed 
by a swifter and sterner chastisement than is agreeable for 
us to contemplate in this comfortable age. 

The woman and the ^'bushido'' 

The "bushido," excepting a few of its leading traits, was 
essentially masculine and martial in origin and in character, 
but, as might be expected, it also changed the moral status 
of the Japanese woman in a fundamental manner. Her 
social position, compared with that of her sister at the 
court of Kyoto in the preceding bureaucratic period, would 
seem to have been materially lowered. No longer was she, 
as was her predecessor, courted by rivalling lovers with 
solicitude and deference; no longer did her feminine taste 
and views of life exert a controlHng influence upon the cus- 
toms and culture of polite society; no longer could she express 
without reserve her personal feelings and emotions even 
in her limited sphere, much less could she play a leading role 
in literary productions or in political councils. On the con- 
trary, the social yoke under which she found herself was 
heavy beyond the conception of her elder sister. The feu- 
dal family had reinforced the right of the house-father, 
and the woman was again completely under the manus, 



CONTRIBUTIONS OF FEUDAL JAPAN TO NEW JAPAN 79 

in turn, of her father, her husband, and his heir. Out 
in the public, the man prevailed, for thither the woman 
seldom ventured. Her sphere of activity was coextensive 
with her home circle, and, within this narrow horizon, her 
freedom of expression was curbed. She eschewed her per- 
sonal opinions when they conflicted with the interest of the 
house or the public duties of her husband. The one command- 
ing principle that ruled her from birth to death was self- 
effacement. 

I fear such description will lead the foreigner, as indeed it 
has led many a well meaning observer, to the conclusion 
that the position of the woman of feudal Japan must have 
been one of unendurable misery. But it is a significant 
fact that, with the decline of her social status, her moral 
status rose immeasurably. Though seemingly more servile, 
she enjoyed genuine respect of the man to an extent unknown 
to her predecessor at Kyoto, for she performed an all-impor- 
tant moral service of which the latter could have no concep- 
tion. Remember that the ''samurai" was under constant 
discipline of fidelity and honor; his service was of arms, 
and involved, therefore, a possible sacrifice of his life at any 
moment. Every day as he left his home and mingled with 
the outer world, he should beware that any instantaneous 
call on his service must be met with clean conscience and 
untarnished honor. He should be absolutely certain that, 
if an unexpected death should overtake him, his wife would 
be able to control her grief, preserve her presence of mind, 
discharge the household obligations so abruptly thrust upon 
her, and rear her children in lessons of fortitude and honor 
worthy of their father. The great strain put upon her by the 
feudal society presupposed in her an adamantine will. If 
the foreign critic must decry the social servility of the Jap- 
anese woman, he would do well to note that this constant 
demand on her moral courage exerted a thrilling influence 
upon the whole course of her life. Let him remember that, 
just as the social status of the Roman woman of the empire 
rose at the same time as their moral fibre weakened, so also, 
in a reverse process, the moral prestige of the Japanese woman 
of the feudal ages increased as her social freedom decreased. 



80 K. ASAKAWA 

Let the critic further consider that, but for her woman, feudal 
Japan could hardly have been what it was and have given to 
New Japan what it has. Since the woman was a tower of 
strength behind him, the man was enabled to go forth with- 
out care of home and do his work without the need of casting 
a backward glance. She effaced herself, so that he might 
serve his lord with honor; and he sacrificed his life, when need 
be, so that his lord might maintain his honor — a whole chain 
of duty and honor binding the entire feudal society. If one 
would criticize the Japanese woman, he should rather criticize 
the system of which she was so decisive a factor. 

The chief defect of the "bushido" 

The chief fault of this social system, from the modern 
standpoint, may perhaps be found in its comparatively low 
estimate of the individu9,l person. Not that, as superficial 
critics aver, the human life was cheap in feudal Japan; nor 
that the man as a being of honor was treated with a whit 
less respect and politeness than in our society. Life was 
dear; honor was dearer than life; and the man as the embodi- 
ment of honor had in a large measure been liberated from the 
thraldom of the clan and of the monotonous and non-ethical 
customs that in the preceding ages had stunted his moral 
individualism. 

It seems essential to remember this great advance in the 
moral valuation of the individual man made in the feudal 
ages, as compared with the earlier period. It is, however, 
equally important to note that the feudal man was prized 
rather as an instrument of the ''bushido" than as a complex 
organism with his physical and mental qualities to protect 
or train, his special interests to serve, his temperament and 
predilections to cherish, his career to realize, and his personal 
character to develop. This organism would correspond to 
the individual person in the Occidental sense, who has sur- 
vived all the levelling processes of the Middle Ages, has per- 
sistently asserted himself as an entity, and is actively devel- 
oping his powers and remodelling his surroundings to subserve 
his interest. In comparison with his Western brother, the 



CONTRIBUTIONS OF FEUDAL JAPAN TO NEW JAPAN 81 

Japanese ''samurai" was conceived as a man largely in the 
abstract. The former is more individualistic; the latter was 
more impersonal, for he regarded himself essentially as a 
temple of honor. Aggressive self-assertion is the keynote of 
modern European civilization; self-control and self-sacrifice 
formed the pre-requisites of the Japanese feudal man. The 
more the ''samurai" effaced himself and the more he lived 
away from his concrete individuality and lived in the ab- 
stract "bushido, " the more of a man he was held to be. For 
the society in which he lived was of such a nature as could 
be maintained only by the prevalence of this special view of 
life, and as could not engender a more individualistic ethics 
or prosper under its regime. Herein we see one of the real, 
great points of contrast between the modern Occidental and 
the feudal Japanese, not to say Oriental, civilization. 

The question of the historical origin of this fundamental 
difference between the two civilizations is far too deep and 
complex for our comprehension. There is, however, no ques- 
tion to my mind as to the subtle and all-pervasive character 
of the effects of the contrasted points of view regarding the 
individual person upon the customs and morals, law and 
religion, in the respective spheres of the two civilizations. 
These effects, on Japan's part, will not be easily outlived, 
fast as she is adopting results of the self-assertive individu- 
alism of the West. Still do the Japanese retain some of 
their old reluctance to insist on their legal rights as against 
one another; still would they of tea yield their points and 
surrender their material interests rather than seeming to be 
too aggressive, for their fathers had been taught for genera- 
tions to believe that nothing concerning one's own self alone, 
not even his rightful claims or high emotions, could be com- 
mendable. I have also witnessed cases of abrupt termination 
of friendships between Japanese and foreigners, to the com- 
plete amazement of the latter, when the former had silently 
and too long endured what seemed to them the selfish and 
mean insistence by their foreign friends on their feelings and 
interests, though the offence had been unintentional on their 
part and in no way touched the personal interest of the Jap- 
anese; these would as much disdain the seeming selfishness 



82 K. ASAKAWA 

in others as in themselves. The divergence of attitudes 
may sometimes result in less pathetic events. Who among 
you, for instance, have not experienced moments of surprise 
at the peculiarly impersonal and mechanical manner in which 
your Japanese acquaintances sometimes regard individuals 
and their affairs? In much the same manner that you your- 
selves often fall into the mistake of treating Japanese as 
general representatives of a race rather than as specific per- 
sons, the Japanese, on their part, may regard you perhaps 
as instruments of the occasion of contact and feel little or 
no genuine interest in your personal places in the human 
world. If they show you politeness and even have respect 
for the position you hold or the cause you advocate, you may 
not be certain that they also feel real interest in you as dis- 
tinctive entities. 

It would be a serious error to exaggerate the impersonal 
side of the Japanese attitude and to forget the existence 
of the reverse side in which devotion and sense of honor 
commanded all personal energy in their service. This 
latter aspect was the saving grace of the Japanese; in- 
deed, it may have been largely responsible for the other, 
impersonal traits. Here the contrast between the Japanese 
and their neighbors, the Chinese, is instructive. If the 
Japanese had not been, as they were, trained in the school 
of loyalty and personal honor, had not been imbued with 
the hatred of opportunism, and had been obliged to fall back 
solely upon their non-personal view of life, there would have 
been little difference between them and the Chinese. The 
great quality of the Chinese would seem to be their dispassion- 
ate utilitarianism; the corresponding virtue of the Japanese 
was, it is clear, their sense of loyalty and honor. Witness how 
they continue to astonish the world now and then by the 
readiness with which they sacrifice their interest for causes 
they regard as necessary and honorable. 

Nor should we be blind to the reverse of the picture. If 
the utilitarianism of the Chinese is sometimes liable to lead 
to crimes of opportunism, the Japanese habit of mind must 
inevitably conduce as often to acts of relentless coercion of 
others as to deeds of noble self-sacrifice. When the ruling 



CONTRIBUTIONS OF FEUDAL JAPAN TO NEW JAPAN 83 

part of the nation sets its heart upon the execution of a great 
poHcy, the remaining part would be carried forward, whether 
cheerfully or reluctantly, along the common path of devotion 
and sacrifice. Illustrations of this kind of compulsion have 
not been absent in Japan in recent years. One has only 
to imagine this state of things, not as occasional, but as uni- 
versal, during the feudal ages; the ''samurai" were not only 
inspired with an abnormal sense of their own honor and 
fidelity, but also expected even the peasant and merchant 
classes to uphold it with enforced loyalty. Naturally this 
system frequently led to frightful abuses: honor as often 
cost freedom as earned it. 

Social Life 
Moral and social 

The moral principles of the "bushido, " however instruc- 
tive in theory, could neither have been the living force that 
it was in feudal Japan, nor have made the invaluable contri- 
butions that it has to the national life of New Japan, had it 
not been born in the heart of the feudal society, and had not, 
as a filial child, gratified the exact social and spiritual wants 
of the age. The "bushido, " that is, was neither grafted on 
Japan by a foreign propaganda, like the Catholicism of the 
sixteenth century, nor copied from abroad, like the Buddhism 
before the ninth century, nor yet formulated by a few men, 
like the Shinto of the Yoshida schools. The "bushido" 
grew, as customs usually grow; it was the spirit of a great 
part of the compelling customs that struck root in that feudal 
society which itself continued to grow for at least seven cen- 
turies. Though the "bushido" absorbed moral influences of 
Indian and Chinese origin, it selected them with extreme 
deliberation, and no alien factor made a permanent impres- 
sion upon it which it did not completely and thoroughly 
assimilate to itself. 

It falls far beyond the scope of this paper to present a full 
social interpretation of the "bushido, " but the following 
brief description of the social organization, not of the entire 



84 K. ASAKAWA 

feudal period, but of its last two and a half centuries under 
the Tokugawa rule, an epoch nearest and most intimately 
related to the new era, might be of some use. The descrip- 
tion might perhaps aid you to appreciate something of the 
vital relation of the "bushido" to the society which reared it 
and depended upon it; you might also feel prepared for the 
discussion, which you will meet later in this paper, as to how, 
after the end of the feudal regime, the "bushido" adjusted 
itself to the changed social conditions of New Japan. 

The Tokugawa policy and the two social classes 

Few things were originated in the Tokugawa period, 1600 
to 1868, either in feudal morals or in feudal institutions, but 
to it were handed do\\^n results of the moral and institutional 
growth of the past four centuries of feudal history. And 
these results were skillfully organized by the rulers into a 
great polity which, combining in itself, as it did, both feudal 
and absolutist principles in a masterly coordination, enabled 
the Tokugawa shogunate to endure in apparent security 
for more than two and a half centuries. The primary aims 
of this regime were: first, to prevent the recurrence of the 
civil war that had troubled Japan for ages, but to insure 
the peace and stability of the realm; and, second, there- 
by to perpetuate the political control of Japan in the 
hands of the house of the Tokugawa "shogun. " In the 
execution of this double policy, the two great social classes 
that had come down from the earlier period, the "samurai," 
or warriors, and the"hyaku-sho, " or peasants, were carefully 
but in a natural manner so organized as to balance and offset 
each other's rights and obligations, and to substantially con- 
tribute to the peace of the land and the power of the rulers. 
Each class was accorded a rigid place in the whole social 
scheme, the ''samurai" ruUng the peasants, and the peasants 
supporting the ''samurai. " Neither was a caste, as the divi- 
sion of the classes was never absolutely insurmountable; 
each had, however, inherited its own customs and morals 
largely different from those of the other, and each was, in a 
different way from the other, granted a measure of autonomy. 



CONTEIBUTIONS OF FEUDAL JAPAN TO NEW JAPAN 85 

and enjoyed, after its own fashion, the paternal care of the 
authorities. The keynote of the rule of both was Discipline, 
though it bore upon them in widely different ways. Let me 
illustrate these points by a brief survey of the organization 
of each class. 

The peasantry 

The peasant population, numbering probably twenty to 
twenty-five million men and women, formed the bulk of the 
nation. Though it was given no share in the government of 
the whole country, its social and economic position had 
greatly improved under the peculiar conditions that obtained 
in Japan during the century prior to the rise of the Tokugawa 
shogunate. The Japanese peasant of 1600 had in fact ac- 
quired a higher status, both in public and in private life, than 
the medieval serf of Europe: he had become the practical 
owner of the land he tilled, though his freedom of selling it was 
restricted; and he had learned step by step the art of the self- 
government of the village and the joint responsibility of 
the villagers. They usually selected village chiefs out of 
their own number, and often organized themselves in smaller 
groups within the village for the purpose of mutual aid and 
correction. The Tokugawa rulers utilized these customs 
and organs that had grown up among the peasants, elaborated 
and extended them throughout their own domains, and en- 
forced the will of their government largely through the village 
institutions thus established. The example of the domains 
of the ''shogun" was also followed in the fiefs of the ''dai- 
myos, " or barons, so that by the end of the seventeenth cen- 
tury, the principles of village administration had become 
fairly uniform throughout Japan. Each normal village had 
its five-man groups, its peasant chiefs and councils, its regular 
mass meetings, its graded system of responsibility — the indi- 
vidual peasant to the group, the group to the village, and 
the village to higher authorities — and its constant vigilance 
and quick response to calls for mutual support. 

All this freedom of the self-government of the village was, 
however, but a part of a carefully wrought system of pater- 
nalism which the Tokugawa rulers had devised for the entire 



86 K. ASAKAWA 

rural population of the country; the villagers were permitted 
to administer their own affairs even more completely than 
they had been wont to do, only in order that they would 
thereby be induced to submit all the more readily to the 
general policy planned for the whole of the productive classes 
of the nation. The peasants were to be satisfied and sub- 
missive; to be honest, diligent, and mutually helpful, as 
also patient and obedient. Agriculture was encouraged, but 
the peasant was restricted in his choice of the crops he would 
raise on his land. He virtually owned the land he cultivated, 
but was forbidden to sell or divide it beyond a certain acre- 
age which must remain in his possession; natural economic 
causes, which I shall not discuss here, also helped to insure 
the small holdings of the peasant against the aggrandisement 
and eviction by his wealthier neighbor. In other words, the 
peasant should be neither too rich nor too poor; in fact, the 
land held by the average peasant was so small — so evenly 
small — that he could support his family only by dint of 
the most intensive farming and utmost toil and frugality. 

In appraising this paternal-autonomous system of village 
government, one should not forget that its main object was, 
as I have already stated, to secure the peace of the country 
and thereby to perpetuate the political power of the Toku- 
gawa. From a system built upon a principle in which the 
selfishness and the patriotism of the rulers were so closely 
blended together, one might well expect results neither wholly 
beneficial nor entirely harmful to the nation. The Japanese 
peasant emerged from the feudal period with little or no 
active interest and training in the conduct of the larger affairs 
of the country, but with the sterling virtue of industry, with 
a remarkable capacity for discipline, and with a secure though 
diminutive holding in land. We may see later in this paper 
some of the direct bearing of each one of these important 
results on the life of New Japan.^ 



^ I venture to refer the readers specially interested in the condition of the 
peasant population in this period to my "Notes on Village Government 
in Japan After 1600," which began to appear in the Journal of the American 
Oriental Society in June, 1910. 



CONTRIBUTIONS OF FEUDAL JAPAN TO NEW JAPAN 87 

The "samurai" 

To return to the social organization under the Tokugawa. 
Over the supporting class of peasantry was the ruling class 
of '^samurai," numbering, with their families, probably less 
than two million souls. Like the peasants of the villages, 
the sworded men under the one suzerain (shogun) and the 
nearly three hundred barons (daimyo) of this period were, 
in ways different from the peasants but upon principles 
similar to those of their governance, granted a large measure 
of autonomy, and yet were controlled by a carefully built 
system of responsibility and paternalism. The barons of 
the fiefs (''han")'* were practically absolute princes in their 
respective territories, but any flagrant case of misgovern- 
ment on their part, or of internal dissension or family scan- 
dal, or an act of disobedience to the ''shogun," was swiftly 
and sternly punished by the latter's council. Likewise, the 
retainers of each baron, who were well organized for the 
enforcement of discipline and responsibility, enjoyed large 
freedom in the management of their own followers; yet they 
were accountable to their lord, not only for failures in their 
duties or disgrace to their honor, but also for any serious 
error in the conduct of their own household. The punish- 
ment of the "samurai," of whatever grade, consisted in 
enforced self-confinement, confiscation of the fief, severing 
of the ties of allegiance and support, or self-immolation. 

Everywhere in this vast scheme were in operation effective 
devices of checks and balances, of responsibility and super- 

■* This word, han, is habitually translated, by both foreign and Japanese 
writers in English, as "clan." But the basic principle of the organization 
of any clan is blood-relationship, while the han, like the fief in the feudal 
history of Europe, was essentially territorial. Neither in the relation between 
the lord and the bulk of the people of the han, nor in the relation between 
the people themselves, there was and could be no semblance of any actual 
or traditional tie of blood. To call a han a clan is to confuse two radically 
different forms of social evolution and social organization, the distinction 
between which is familiar to every student of history and sociology. It is 
remarkable how sometimes, as in this example, the human good nature per- 
mits transparent errors to gain currency before it awakes to see the great 
harm they have done. It is urgent, for the sake of truth, to discontinue 
the prevalent use of the misapplied and misleading term "clan" in speaking 
of an organization which was to all intent and purposes a fief. 



88 K. ASAKAWA 

vision; and everywhere was made, with much success, a 
constant appeal to the sense of personal honor and the dic- 
tates of the "bushido, " which have been discussed in an 
earlier part of this paper. A little reflection will show how 
well such a moral life fitted the social form of the time; it is 
equally easy to see how well this whole system must have 
subserved the cardinal aims of the Tokugawa rule, namely, 
to prevent the recurrence of civil strife, and to prolong the 
political control of feudal Japan by the house of the ''shogun." 

The End of the Feudal and the Rise of New Japan 
The fall of the feudal rule 

We have seen, I trust, some features of the old order of 
things in Japan which should guide us in our understar ding, 
not only of the feudal period, but also of the transitional and 
the new age that followed. Wearisome as it may seem, I 
venture to reiterate the first aims of the Tokugawa rule: 
namely, to restore and maintain peace and stability, and to 
stake upon the success of this policy the very tenure of the 
power of the ' ' shogun. " It was largely with a view to carry- 
ing out this double policy, that the founders of the regime 
made the skillful use of the existing social conditions that 
we have seen, elaborating and balancing them in a manner 
to compel our admiration for the statesmanship of the authors 
of the policy. 

The student will be struck with the peculiarly half-selfish 
yet half-disinterested nature of this policy. Still more re- 
markable, there is evidence that these statesmen actually 
foresaw that, inasmuch as they had built the power of their 
descendants upon the degree of the efficiency of the govern- 
ment of the latter in maintaining the security of the realm, 
they might some day be obliged to forfeit their power, should 
they fail in this primary function of administration. That 
time arrived in the middle of the nineteenth century: a sud- 
den access of pressure from foreign powers made it then 
patent to progressive men that, under the radically changed 
conditions, the old regime of the shogunate was no longer 



CONTRIBUTIONS OF FEUDAL JAPAN TO NEW JAPAN 89 

adequate to pilot the ship of state against the tidal wave of 
national unheaval and international struggle that rose so 
ominously before Japan. As a matter of fact, the council 
of the '^shogun" rapidly lost its control even over the feudal 
classes. Indeed, its vision of the real situation confronting 
it was too long obscured by its natural desire to conserve 
its own interest. The ''shogun" awoke at length, only in 
1867, to the fact which had become evident to freer thinkers 
in the previous fifteen years, that, if Japan would persist as 
an independent state, she should frame a more centralized 
form of government than feudalism. After this period of 
convulsion, therefore, the voluntary surrender of the Toku- 
gawa rule and what is known as the restoration of the imperial 
government supervened, as we all know, in the years 1867 
and 1868. 

The old forces in transition 

Who would dare say that this revolution could have been 
accomplished so successfully as it was, had it not been for 
the social-moral system that had been maintained under 
the Tokugawa? The '^samurai" class, with its habitual 
hatred of opportunism and its ever present ideal of self- 
denial and loyalty, was happily suited for assuming the 
leadership in the new movement for national unity. The 
sworded man, who had for generations been taught to value 
his personal honor higher than his life, was able to leave all 
meaner things behind and to march straight to his new 
goal, regardless of the obstacles and perils that would have 
daunted a man of mere courage. On the other hand, the 
peasants, docile and well-disciplined for centuries, formed 
an exact type of population to be led by the new leaders and 
to support the new rulers. The transition from the feudal 
to New Japan came about, therefore, with a tremendous 
upheaval on the part of those ''samurai" who had awoke 
to advanced ideas of national welfare, but with hardly a shock 
to the placid mind of the peasantry. The former experi- 
enced a sharp conflict with the more conservative '' samuari, " 
each side leaving records of thrilling acts of heroism and loy- 
alty; the peasants passed from the old age to the new, 



90 K. ASAKAWA 

scarcely shedding a drop of their blood. The same condition 
has characterized the first few years that followed the revo- 
lution of 1868, when Japan, old as she was, was still but an 
infant as a modern state struggling for existence against the 
aggressive brother states of the West. The old "samurai" 
were able to lead, and the old peasants, to be led. 

How different would have been the fate of Japan if the 
feudal ages had not provided her with the peculiar social 
and moral system that it did! If the " samurai " had been 
individualistic and utilitarian, there might perhaps have 
been an ultimate change in the existing order of things, and 
even — though this is doubtful — a progressive career of the 
race under modern conditions, but there could hardly have 
been the united, seasoned, and purposeful advance of the 
nation as a political body that has characterized Japan since 
the revolution. Likewise, had the peasants been critical and 
individually self-assertive, it seems extremely unlikely that 
the nation could have safely steered ._ through the many 
crises, domestic and foreign, that have often appeared about 
to overturn it, united as it actually was. I believe that there 
would have arisen internal dissensions imperilling the very 
existence of the state. 

It is well that there is variety in the ways of political sal- 
vation of nations: China's greatness as a race, as has again 
been strikingly demonstrated during the past months, as 
also throughout her historic ages, seems to consist in her 
largely impersonal sense of opportunism and utilitarianism. 
That remarkable quality may carry her through the present 
crisis. As for Japan, she has saved herself from an impend- 
ing dissolution and possible foreign conquest by the qualities 
of fidelity and discipUne that had been trained in different 
forms in her two social classes. From this standpoint, one 
might almost say that the feudal regime was destroyed by 
the very forces on which it had rested for centuries, as soon 
as they were set free by a national crisis. 



CONTEIBUTIONS OF FEUDAL JAPAN TO NEW JAPAN 91 

The new age — amalgamation 

We may now move a step further from the transitional 
epoch that followed the downfall of the Tokugawa, and enter 
into the new age proper, which may be said to date from about 
1875. How have the social and moral forces bequeathed 
from the feudal period operated since that time? It will 
be remembered that the two great social classes had, during 
the earlier ages, grown so separately and acquired such dis- 
tinctive characteristics from each other, as to seem almost 
to be castes. Their views of life were divergent, and their 
interests were largely independent and in part even antago- 
nistic. Hence, there was in Japan no ''nation" in the strict 
sense of the term. This state of things proved convenient, 
as I have suggested, at the transitional epoch, and materiallj^ 
contributed to the triumph of the principle of new centrali- 
zation over that of maintaining the decentralized feudal 
regime. It was, however, evident to the more thoughtful 
men that the very ideal of unity, upon the realization of 
which the future safety of the nation seemed to them to 
depend, would be meaningless so long as the two classes 
remained as far apart as before. There might be coherence, 
but hardly unity. The late Dr. G. W. Knox once related to 
me the following story which he had heard personally from the 
mouth of Count Itagaki. In 1868, when the ''shogun" had 
lost his power, Aidzu was one of the fiefs in northern Japan 
that remained loyal to the memory of their suzerain and held 
out against the new government. The army of the latter, 
marching northward, invested the Aidzu castle so closely 
that loyal peasants of the vicinity could no longer bring pro- 
visions to their lords who defended the castle. After they 
had exhausted their wits in attempting to communicate with 
the besieged, the simple rustics finally presented themselves 
before the staff officers of the besieging army, and begged 
them kindly to forward their tributes to the castle. Though 
all were impressed by the loyal sentiment of the peasants, 
Itagaki alone, who was present, could not help thinking in 
the following vein. This act was commendable merely 
because it was done by peasants, for ''samurai" would be 



92 K. ASAKAWA 

expected to fight to the last man before they appealed to 
their enemy for help; so long as the ethical standards so 
radically different in quality applied to the two classes, and 
so long as the lower was not raised to the level of the higher, 
the nation would be incapable of competing with the ener- 
getic Western powers. 

Ideas like these dawned early on the mind of many a 
patriot, though in varying degrees of clearness. The very 
five-article oath pronounced by the young emperor in 1868 
at the beginning of his reign foreshadowed the general prin- 
ciple. Both of the old classes were capable of a high sense 
of public service, but one, whose fathers had lived on heredi- 
tary status and had not been obliged to earn their livelihood 
by productive work, was economically imbecile, while the 
the other class, having for ages been deprived of full oppor- 
tunities to emulate the condition of the ''samurai," was 
morally and intellectually undeveloped. It was necessary 
to enlighten both, but it was first of all urgent to let one 
impart to the other the virtues of the old "bushido, " and to 
let them together learn lessons of economic and other material 
adjustment. The immediate ideal was, therefore, as com- 
plete an amalgamation, physical and moral, of the two former 
classes as could be achieved by human foresight and effort. 
The life of the new nation should be based upon a careful 
welding together of the legacies that had come down from 
the feudal ages; out of their fusion should grow a great middle 
class, or a precursor of one, that should constitute the back- 
bone of the new nation. Other things should come after 
and with this result. 

Though it was only a part of the colossal work of recon- 
struction that entailed upon the imperial government, the 
proposed amalgamation was in itself a great task, requiring 
utmost care and skill. It is impossible for me even to refer 
to all the larger measures that have been made and the more 
serious errors committed in relation with this work during 
the last three or four decades. There will be critics who 
would deplore the following, for instance, as among the errors 
— the creation of a peerage consisting of the old court and 
feudal nobility and of newly appointed peers, which is not 



CONTRIBUTIONS OF FEUDAL JAPAN TO NEW JAPAN 93 

in all cases limited in term, but is for the most part hereditary, 
constituting a perpetual social burden imposed upon the 
posterity; the introduction of a distinctly bureaucratic spirit 
among officials, a spirit which may be readily copied even 
by a private large organization or clique of whatever charac- 
ter; the inflexible and somewhat intolerant system of educa- 
tion of government schools in a country in which private 
institutions of instruction should be welcome to supply the 
excessive deficiency of the public ones, and which can ill 
afford the more or less antagonistic feeling that the system 
is breeding among an increasingly large number of persons 
against the official education; and the much criticized man- 
agement of public finance which, though it has thus far in- 
sured the state against really serious embarrassments, has not 
prevented an inflation of the currency and a rapid increase 
of the cost of living, with the attendant social unrest. On 
each of these points, however, opinions might honestly differ. 
On the other hand, among the successful agents for the amal- 
gamation of the old classes may be mentioned the following 
— the same system of national education, and the system of 
military training — the two great practical schools in which 
class distinctions are totally ignored and knowledge and merit 
alone rule; the grant of a conservative but expansive political 
franchise; and the growth of national wealth and of the general 
economic life of the people, the last factor especially leading 
also to a new social aligmnent. To these forces, I cannot help 
adding the great international events that have involved 
the nation in neighboring regions and on the American con- 
tinent, which have served at once as tests and as lessons for 
the cohesion, the disillusionment, and the self-reliance of 
the nation. 

Whatever may be one's opinion of the forces that have 
helped or hindered the amalgamation, there will be little 
question as to the large degree of its success. In their love 
of the country and devotion to the sovereign, which are new 
forms of the ''bushido, " and in their growing ambition for 
their welfare, both individual and national, the Japanese 
people of today are to a remarkable extent homogeneous. 
And the lines of demarkation that are indeed being drawn 



94 K. ASAKAWA 

in their society with increasing distinctness are results of 
a new economic evolution, not a repetition of the old order 
of things. Amalgamation is already being followed by new 
division. 

The emperor 

There is yet another institution to be considered, the im- 
portance of which in our discussion is supreme. To speak of 
the feudal contributions to New Japan without reference to 
the institution of the emperor would be like drawing an eye 
without its pupil. This institution was not, to be sure, 
created during the feudal period, but, though antedating 
it, has been, as we shall see, deeply affected by social condi- 
tions of the feudal ages. 

As a matter of fact, the emperor was, in the first place, the 
very founder of Japan as a body politic; and then, in the 
seventh century, when her society was in danger of a possible 
foreign conquest and a certain internal dissolution, saved 
his tenure as sovereign by taking radical measures of recon- 
struction, and thereby saved Japan as a state. 

By this time, the foundation of the position of the emperor 
as the historic ruler of the country seems to have been firmly 
established. Although, during the seven long centuries of 
the feudal rule, his political power was almost totally eclipsed 
by that of the suzerain and his barons; although, in the second 
half of the sixteenth century, he was even reduced to a state 
of unspeakable penury; and although, when his material 
condition improved after 1600, his sovereign rights were 
hardly less nominal than before — yet it is a remarkable 
fact in Japanese history that not even the most rough- 
handed suzerain ever for a moment presumed to replace 
the emperor as the titular sovereign. Throughout the feudal 
period, the emperor continued to command the implicit 
deference of all classes of people as the sole fountain of 
official rank and courtly honor; no suzerain's title was valid 
who had not received imperial investiture. Nominal as its 
control was and varied as its career had been, the emperor- 
ship had after all proved to be the oldest and most enduring, 
as well as the most exalted, of Japan's political and social 



CONTRIBUTIONS OF FEUDAL JAPAN TO NEW JAPAN 95 

institutions. Even at the depth of his poverty and help- 
lessness, the emperor had never ceased to be a sacred and 
inviolable personage. 

From this state, he rose suddenly to a commanding posi- 
tion when, in the last years of the shogunate, the movement 
for national unity was begun and carried on swiftly to 
triumph. The emperor was at once conceived by the fol- 
lowers of this movement as its soul; and, on the success of the 
cause, he was universally regarded as the center, the incarna- 
tion, of national traditions and national aspirations, embody- 
ing in himself Japan's past history and future destiny. The 
old principle of loyalty, tried and vitalized as it had been 
during the feudal ages, had now been disengaged from its 
feudal ties, and took up the emperor as its common object 
of expression. For many years after the so-called restora- 
tion of 1868, therefore, loyalty to him and patriotism to the 
country were thought to be interchangeable terms. As time 
advanced, his councillors have carefully nursed the general 
trend of the national mind to regard the emperor as the 
embodiment of the great policies of the nation. Otherwise 
these policies, however wise, would have lacked sufficient 
authority and dignity to enlist the undivided devotion of 
the people that they have shown. 

Why is it, then, that the Japanese emperor has not turned 
a despot? In the constitution which he granted to the 
nation in 1889, he asserts in clear terms that the sovereignty 
of Japan rests in his hands, not in those of the people; that 
the cabinet is responsible to him; and that the national 
assembly, explicitly designated ^'imperial" diet, is not an 
independent law-making organ, but a helpmate of the emperor 
in his legislative capacity, even the representative character 
of the lower house being considered its incidental, rather than 
essential, characteristic. Would it be safe for Japan to have 
such an autocrat over her, constitutional though he is now 
said to be? The answer is that the Japanese emperor has 
never been despotic, and no one can fancy by any stretch 
of imagination that he ever will be. Let me not essay to 
convince you of the truth of this assertion, for it seemingly 
contradicts the universal human nature, and otherwise may 



96 K. ASAKAWA 

not be fully proven without an extended discourse. Let 
it suffice to point out rather dogmatically what might other- 
wise be logically demonstrated — some of the probable his- 
torical reasons for this extraordinary state of things relative 
to the Japanese emperor. 

Both the emperor and the people in their attitude toward 
him have acquired in the course of Japan's long history a 
strongly marked common habit in their conception of his 
political power. Before the seventh century, when the or- 
ganization of the state was largely tribal, with the emperor 
as the patriarch of the whole tribe, he was accustomed to 
regard the people in a paternal spirit, not as a tyrant, and 
their attitude toward him was deeply colored with something 
akin to filial sentiment. This mutual feeling, as of father 
and children, has, despite the important changes that have 
since occurred in the status of the emperor, come down from 
the ancient period, and is manifest to this day. With the 
seventh century began a highly artificial bureaucratic regime 
modelled after the Chinese polity, in which the sovereign, 
so far as his political life was concerned, was placed in a 
position in which he was bound to assume a largely imper- 
sonal attitude, his councillors bearing the major part of the 
responsibility of the government. Social and religious forces, 
none of which we have space to discuss here, also strongly 
contributed to this tendency. This bureaucratic period, 
which lasted for more than five centuries, is full of significant 
lessons of human history; and among them must be men- 
tioned the gradual establishinent, in addition to the older 
patriarchal sentiment, of the principle of what I call, for 
lack of a better phrase, the political impersonality of the 
emperor. Politically, that is, he must not assert his per- 
sonal preferences and predilections, and, if he has a strong 
will, it must be exercised, not in translating it into positive 
deeds born of his own convictions, but in sinking his idiosyn- 
crasies, and in sanctioning and giving effect to the counsels of 
responsible advisers. Such a mode of conduct would appear 
to the Occidental mind to indicate a weak individuality, and it 
cannot be denied that there were weak sovereigns ; I content 
myself here, however, with suggesting that the world is wide 



CONTRIBUTIONS OP FEUDAL JAPAN TO NEW JAPAN 97 

and contains many viewpoints, and that circumstances favored 
the very strongest of the Japanese emperors of the period 
to regard this principle of their political impersonality as 
wise and to act accordingly. Then during the subsequent 
seven centuries of the feudal regime, except in the brief space 
of 1333-1336, the emperor was politically so completely over- 
shadowed by the suzerain that he could not, if he would, 
assert his personal will. You may readily see that this state 
of things, continuing for so long a period, must have power- 
fully confirmed the historic principle of the imperial political 
impersonality. 

This, then, is the unwritten law much more than a thousand 
years old, that, socially, the emperor and his subjects shall 
treat each other with family-like attachment, and, politically, 
he shall be impersonal and let properly constituted authori- 
ties act as his responsible ministers. If this law is not com- 
mitted to writing, it is older than any written law in existence 
in Japan, and also immeasurably stronger, even as the funda- 
mental laws of the English constitution are strong though 
unwritten. 

And the strength of the Japanese principle has been greatly 
increased by the promulgation of the constitution in 1889. 
Though it does not verbally refer to the principle, the con- 
stitution has firmly established the regular organs — the diet, 
the cabinet, the privy council, and the judiciary — through 
which the fundamental principle should operate in the future. 
The constitution, when examined closely, ceases to appear 
merely as another product of the blind imitation of Occiden- 
tal civilization on which Japan is said by some to have built 
her new career. The idea of having a written constitution 
is Western, as also are the prototypes of the diet and other new 
institutions, but the broad principles underlying them will 
be seen to be very largely Japanese. The sovereign remains 
socially gracious and politically impersonal. The government 
by his cabinet and privy council still retains a large degree 
of the old paternalism, which depended more on the wisdom 
of the rulers and the unity and continuity of their policies 
than on the fluctuating suggestions of the people; the door 
has been opened only partially to the influence of the Western 



98 K. ASAKAWA 

idea — by no means the only political idea that humanity 
is capable of conceiving, and an idea whose merit is still under 
trial — that no one's interest would be considered who has 
no representative to fight and assert it. And the opening 
is so carefully controlled that it must widen only slowly with 
the increase in national wealth and political experience. In 
other words, the late Ito and the other framers of the con- 
stitution have elaborated it in such wise as to train the self- 
governing capacity of the nation, rather than exercising it 
before it was mature. The emperor, while reserving the 
theoretical sovereignty in his hands, has thus deliberately 
founded his future power upon the gradual training of his 
subjects, which shall at once be promoted and tested by 
means of his constitutional organs. The whole structure of 
the new regime may, therefore, be said to legalize and define 
the great national principle that has a history of many centu- 
ries. Thereby, it would seem, even the remotest possibility 
that might have hitherto existed, if at all, of the violation 
of the principle by a willful sovereign is to all intents and pur- 
poses eliminated. 

From this point of view, it is most fortunate that, in the 
extremely important formative period since 1867, Japan has 
been blessed with an emperor who in temper and in training 
typifies what her constitutional sovereign should be. Frank 
and generous but highly conservative, the reigning ruler has 
loyally supported the policies of the nation as interpreted 
by his gifted advisers; and then, when the wealth and educa- 
tion of the middle classes were sufficiently advanced, he sanc- 
tioned the grant of a political franchise which is so designed 
as to be shared by a greater and greater portion of the people 
automatically with their progress in knowledge and material 
welfare. Future historians will be able to appreciate better 
than we the great confirming influence which the present reign 
will have exercised upon the constitutional career of New 
Japan in its very first decades. 



contributions of feudal japan to new japan 99 

Conclusion 

We have now completed a general survey of the vital 
relation of feudal Japan to New Japan. In her we behold 
a well-disciplined, coherent nation which, with its steadfast 
common aims, and with its conservative but expansive con- 
stitution — all revolving around the Emperor as the heart 
and soul of the united existence of the nation — distinctly 
constitutes a strong organism and powerful moral force. 
Its activity thus far at home and abroad is a matter of com- 
mon knowledge; its future cannot help bearing a vital rela- 
tion to the history of mankind. But this nation could hardly 
have become what it is, had it not been for the fact that it 
has built itself largely upon the social and moral forces that 
have been contributed to it from the feudal period. 

I conclude this paper by asking a few questions which its 
subject touches but does not include. May New Japan, 
made up at least in part of the elements and depending on 
the training of which I have given an inadequate analysis, 
be said to possess all the essential requisites to fulfil its func- 
tions as a state and as a society? If she has thus far proved 
a success as a state among states, will she be equally efficient 
in her duties to her individual sons and daughters? Will the 
latter be always as loyal to her as they have been? Does the 
foregoing discussion suggest the existence in her system of 
any ominous gap which time may widen into serious propor- 
tions, or do you discern in reality signs of coming difficulties 
already inferable at this date? 



THE SECRET OF JAPANESE SUCCESS 

By Garrett Droppers, Professor of Political Economy in 

Williams College, formerly Professor of Political 

Economy in the University of Tokyo 

No one can contemplate the state of society in Japan pre- 
vious to the arrival of Commodore Perry without being 
profoundly impressed with its singular and in many respects 
its great qualities. The government commonly spoken of 
as the Tokugawa regime was the culmination and flower 
of the feudal system, but it differed from feudalism in Europe 
in many important points not the least of which was the 
entirely peaceful character of this period. From the ear- 
liest times to the rule of lyeyasu about the year 1600 Japan 
was a rude and incoherent feudalism, clan vying with clan 
and faction with faction. Even when a peaceful condition 
was established in this earlier period it only lasted until 
some combination of clans could be made strong enough to 
overthrow the ruling clan. There was no stable equilibrium 
of powers in the country. But with the rise of Nobunaga 
about 1573 and Hideyoshi in 1587 the rival clans were 
reduced to submission and finally under the leadership of 
the greatest statesman that Japan ever produced, the Shogun 
lyeyasu, the government was so firmly established that no 
important insurrection again took place until the shogunate 
was overthrown in 1868. 

From the year 1600 to the end of the middle of the nine- 
teenth century the institutions of Japan had a peaceful 
and for the most part an indigenous development. All 
foreigners were rigidly excluded and foreign trade forbidden 
with the exception of a few Dutch and Chinese ships at a 
single port. lyeyasu reorganized the government on lines 
of ancient Japanese customs and traditions. The local 
clans with their lords, or daimyos, he confirmed in their pos- 

100 



THE SECRET OF JAPANESE SUCCESS 101 

sessions, but he reserved portions of territory for his own 
immediate retainers — the hatamoto — and distributed their 
lands in such a way that no daimyo could easily combine 
with neighboring clans for revolt. Later every daimyo was 
required to spend a certain portion of his time at the court 
of the shogan in Yedo, the capital city. The people below 
the rulers were divided into four classes, the highest being 
the knights or samurai, next the farmers, then the artisans 
and lowest the merchants. No member of one class, with 
rare exceptions, could enter the other class. Each class 
was carefully guarded as well as restricted in its privileges. 
The civilized world has never witnessed a like condition of 
peaceful development, of the • supremacy of the state, of 
loyalty to the state, from the lowest to the highest, of a 
coherent and compact nation. 

With the downfall of the Tokugawa shogunate after a 
brief struggle in 1868 and the collapse of the feudal system a 
few years later the modern era of Japan began. Step by 
step the process of modernization went on. The railway, 
the telegraph, the postal system, the reorganization of the 
army and navy, the development of foreign commerce, the 
establishment of a banking system, the abolition of feudal 
land tenures and the substitution of absolute ownership, 
the creation of a representative government, a cabinet 
administration responsible directly to the Emperor, all these 
reforms took place successively. New law codes in place of 
ancient customary law, a general system of primary, second- 
ary and university education, all these and many other 
reforms were accomplished with a minimum of friction and a 
maximum of effect. It is a wonderful story, it is even more 
astonishing to the accurate student than to the casual ob- 
server. In some cases, I believe, the Japanese have exhibited 
more wisdom than their immediate foreign advisers who 
in the first instance were employed to aid them in the proc- 
ess of transformation. For instance, under American advice 
in 1871 they introduced the American national banking sys- 
tem. It took the Japanese less than ten years to discover 
that this system was so faulty as to be useless for their pur- 
poses. The government sent a board of inquiry abroad to 



102 GARRETT DROPPERS 

study the various banking systems of foreign countries. 
This board patiently considered the most important bank- 
ing organizations in existence and in an exhaustive report 
decided in favor of a bank on the model of the Bank of 
Belgium. In 1882 the Nippon Ginko — the great Central 
Bank of Japan — was organized with a view to replacing 
ultimately the national banking system of earlier date. 
This great bank has been of inestimable service in providing 
credit for Japanese industries and financing war loans at 
critical periods. When one remembers how poor in capi- 
tal Japan is and what demands were made to carry on the 
war with Russia it must be evident that she must have had 
an excellent banking system to have withstood all danger of 
panic or commercial disaster. The Bank of Japan is the 
effective life principle of her entire credit system. Under the 
older national banking system it is doubtful whether she 
could have met the enormous war expenditure successfully. 

This transition from a feudal organization of society to 
the modern regime including the successful prosecution of 
two great wars is the problem to be solved. What is the 
secret of Japan's success in so many fields of modern endeavor 
in competition with countries which have had the advantage 
of longer experience and larger accumulation of wealth? 
Are we here in the presence of an unparalleled phenomenon — 
— a miracle in the evolution of nations — or can we trace the 
success of the Japanese to some principle of consistent 
growth, such as we find among some of the nations of the 
West? 

Much may be said in favor of a theory advanced with 
some plausibility and force that the difference between the 
conditions of feudahsm and those of the restoration is far 
less than we are apt to imagine. Modern scholars who have 
studied minutely the institutions of the feudal regime in 
Japan find in them the germ of nearly every modern insti- 
tution. For instance representative government was thor- 
oughly understood and practiced in the farming villages of 
Japan. ^ The Tokugawa government not only permitted 

1 See Noies on Village Government in Japan after 1600, by K. Asakawa, 
New Haven, Conn. 



THE SECRET OF JAPANESE SUCCESS 103 

this form of local self-government but fostered it, and as a 
rule gave it unstinted support when in conflict with other 
jurisdictions. The same sort of self-government was prac- 
ticed in the guilds, the five family group (Kumi) and in the 
family councils. From this circumstance we may conclude 
that the present prefectural assemblies representing the 
people of a given prefecture or even the national parliament 
are not an anomalous institution in Japan. The people 
were thoroughly familiar with the idea of a form of self- 
government and it needed only a slight modification to 
suit new conditions to make them thoroughly at home in it. 
In some respects the old feudal government was more inclined 
to favor the local autonomy than is the present government. 
It was the policy of the Tokugawa administration to throw 
off as much responsibility as possible wherever it was entirely 
safe to do so. If we examine other existing institutions, 
political, economic or educational, we may trace the nucleus 
of their existence to the feudal period. Banking of a sort 
was well extablished at that time. Bills of exchange, prom- 
issory notes and even checks, all on a limited scale as befitted 
a country without foreign commerce, were made use of. 
For the government at Yedo there was communication 
throughout the Empire carried on by runners with such effect 
that Kaempfer who was in Japan toward the end of the seven- 
teenth century was astounded at its rapidity. Schools and 
higher institutions of learning were to some degree fostered. 
Department stores were by no means unknown in the feudal 
era. The samurai or knights were perhaps the most loyal and 
courageous body of soldiers that the world has ever known. 
Thus nearly every institution which Japan is supposed to 
have borrowed from the West existed in some form in this 
earlier period. The civilization of the Tokugawa period 
was in many ways a most complete and finished product.' 
So far from being wanting in the arts and refinements of a 
cultured civilization it would be easy to prove that for at 
least a considerable body of the people refinement toward 
the end of the Tokugawa period had progressed at the expense 

2 For a summary of the achievements of the feudal period, see Feudal 
and Modern Japan, by A. M. Knapp. 



104 GARRETT DROPPERS 

of vigor. About the middle of the nineteenth century- 
Japanese reformers were attacking the luxury of the rulers 
and the decadence of the arts. 

From this point of view then we have in the transition of 
Japan from feudalism to the restoration only a natural evolu- 
tion, a transformation from the simple to the complex, from 
the less developed to the more developed, a growth without a 
serious break or strain. This interpretation accords with 
the modern doctrine of historical continuity, of social cause 
and effect and beyond question it throws much light upon 
some difficult phases of Japan's ready acceptance of cer- 
tain reforms. The Japanese by their earlier experience 
and training, by their familiarity in the feudal period with 
economic and political problems were not the naive and 
primitive people we at first imagined them to be, but rather 
a sophisticated people who needed only a slight impulse to 
appreciate the advantages of Western civilization, its larger 
scale, its more efficient processes and on the whole its greater 
opportunities for the individual. At the same time this 
mode of interpretation does not explain the striking and 
continuous success of the Japanese in the past thirty years, 
whether in the domain of politics or diplomacy, industry or 
finance, education or science, and last but not least of war 
whether by land or sea. The Japanese have exhibited a 
singular sagacity or common-sense which we have generally 
supposed to be exclusively our own possession or at least the 
possession of Occidentals. The many international complica- 
tions of the past twenty years have shown that their capacity 
for meeting emergencies has painfully shocked some of the 
European governments and even caused the latter to sound 
an alarm of the ''Yellow Peril." 

The secret of Japanese success is I believe to be found in 
the relation of the Japanese to the structure of their society. 
The unit of Western society is the individual, however tech- 
nically the definition of the individual may be construed 
for political or other purposes. In Japan under the feudal 
system both in theory and practice the individual was a 
subordinate consideration. The unit of society was the 
family. Nor must we understand by this term merely the 



THE SECRET OF JAPANESE SUCCESS 105 

family in the Western sense of the word. In Japan the 
family may consist of sixty or seventy persons — it consists 
of all those who worship at the same family shrine. A family 
may consist of an entire village. From birth to death the 
affairs of each member of the family are regulated by the 
family — and in important cases by the family council. No 
Japanese would think of securing an education, of choosing 
a vocation, of spending his leisure, of taking a wife, or of 
leaving home on his own initiative. Such an act would be 
to him incomprehensible. Every act of every individual 
is determined not by himself but by the decrees of his family. 
It has been said that Japan is a paradise for children. No 
doubt children are petted and have their own way in that 
country to a much greater extent than with us, but only 
because it is understood that as soon as they get beyond the 
age of childhood their life-long discipline begins. The family 
never dies, it is perpetual, it is not a contractual institution, 
it is a religious commonwealth. No member of the family, 
not even the oldest, is free from the bonds of family disci- 
pline. If a debt is contracted by a member of the family it 
is assumed by all and in the feudal era might be an obliga- 
tion imposed upon the family for generations. In every 
properly constituted household is a family shrine — either 
Shinto or Buddhist — at which each member worships daily. 
In the institution of the patriarchal family the Japanese 
are not exceptional; the same institution is found in the early 
Aryan civilizations, as in early Greece and Rome the 
family was an all powerful and equally despotic common- 
wealth in which the liberty of the individual member was 
rigidly restricted. What is exceptional in the case of Japan 
is the fact that the patriarchal family has been maintained 
to within recent years and even at the present time is a 
vigorous institution compared with which our Western family 
institution is but a feeble relic. We may see in Japan at 
the present moment many social customs and institutions 
which have ceased to exist in Europe since the early Greek 
and Roman civilization.^ 

' Cf. Ferrero's Greatness and Decline of Rome, Ch. 1. The analogies in 
some instances are striking. *• 



106 GARRETT DROPPERS 

Next in importance to the Japanese family, with its rigid 
discipline controlling the daily life of every member, was the 
power of the community over each family. As every house- 
hold worshipped at the family shrine so the village community 
worshipped at the village Shinto shrine, set up usually in the 
outskirts of the village. The rule of the community over its 
inhabitants was supplementary to and quite as severe as 
the rule of the household over each of its members. And 
the thinking of the conmiunity was singularly homogeneous. 
To displease one was to displease all and the punishment 
for any serious infraction of the laws or customs of the com- 
munity was terrible. To disobey one's parents for instance 
was not only to oppose the united will of the family but to 
run counter to the will of the community — it meant social 
ostracism, a far more effective weapon than severe corporal 
punishment. In extreme cases a person could be banished 
and that was in old Japan complete degradation and misery. 
Such a person could not go elsewhere because no family 
would receive him and he had no personal existence save 
as a member of a family. He generally became a hinin, a 
no-man, doomed to consort with the outcasts of society, 
beggars, strolling singers or jugglers. 

Lastly every Japanese was trained in loyalty to his govern- 
ment and country. The technical profession of miUtary 
loyalty was in the hands of the large class of samurai and 
to this class loyalty was not only a hfe career, but a religious 
rite with an elaborate ceremony. The discipline of a samurai 
was extraordinarily severe. Its piu-itanism in many ways 
exceeded that of any mihtary order that ever existed. The 
code, written or unwritten, demanded sobriety, self-control, 
instant obedience. A samurai was a man of few words, 
simple and stoical tastes, and of the severest sense of honor. 
He beUeved that to him was entrusted the ultimate destiny 
of his country and his daily conduct, it was thought, should 
reflect that sense of responsibility. His children from their 
earliest youth were trained in the same school of stoic sim- 
pHcity and laborious exercise. A samurai was not expected 
to show affection even to his wife and children or parents. 



THE SECRET OF JAPANESE SUCCESS 107 

His wife was dignified sufficiently in being his wife and loyally 
conformed to the harsh conditions. 

But loyalty was a duty not only of the samurai but was 
equally taught to and practiced by all classes. For instance 
the taxpayers were the farmers who paid their dues in rice, 
and judging by Western standards we might suppose that the 
farmers assumed this burden with some reluctance. But 
the farmers as a rule not only paid their taxes with alacrity 
but selected the best rice of the crop for their rulers. Tax- 
day was much more a festival than a day of gloom. Loyalty 
of some sort whether to the lord of the clan or to the shogun, 
or to the emperor, was part and parcel of the life of most 
Japanese. During the peaceful period of the shogunate, 
beginning with 1600, this loyalty expanded to far wider limits 
than had existed in the war-like years previous to 1600, but 
even under the Bakufu there were certain narrowing restric- 
tions. Since the downfall of the last shogun in 1868, loyalty 
has had a national scope of which the Emperor is the center 
and soul. 

This brief and fragmentary outline of Japanese society 
is given merely to show that the essential idea of the social 
structure in Japan under the feudal system was a strict sub- 
ordination of individuals to groups and of both to the state. 
Such an idea as personal liberty never entered the minds of 
the Japanese whether rulers or ruled. Every person was 
supposed to have his proper place in the social organization 
and to be satisfied with that place.* The people accepted 
this arrangement without question or doubt, and for the most 
part even unconsciously, inasmuch as it had its origin in a 
religious system that had existed from prehistoric times. 
Every individual had a secure niche, but the security was 
dependent upon perfect obedience to the system. It is 
often stated from our pulpits that religion is more a life than 
a creed, but in Japan it was all life, the creed was never formu- 
lated except in the writings of a few philosophers. Strangers 
in Japan are wont to express surprise at the placidity of all 
classes, their amiable humor and good manners. The Japan- 

* Cf. The Legacy of lyeyasu where this view is strictly maintained. 



108 GARRETT DROPPERS 

ese seem to have little anxiety as to their morals or conduct. 
By contrast our own state of mind is one of worry. Some 
time ago there was an article written, I believe by Maeter- 
linck, on the subject of ''Our Anxious MoraUty," as though 
we were in a state of uncertainty as to whether any individ- 
ual would turn out to be a success or a failure in his conduct. 
In Japan there is much less of this for the simple reason that 
the social disciphne and force of opinion as embodied in the 
habits and institutions of the people are so powerful that no 
one can escape them. 

The system imposed a continuous disciphne upon all 
classes of people. According to the Legacy of lyeyasu, a 
document of immense importance in the government of the 
Tokugawa period, judges should be more lenient in condemn- 
ing infractions of the law by the humble and poor than by 
the rich and powerful. The feudal society was aristocratic 
to the core but it demanded that each class live up to its 
status and privileges. In the 50th and 51st articles of this 
Legacy concerning adultery he states: "The upper classes 
are expected to know better than to occasion disturbance for 
violating existing regulations; and such persons, breaking 
the laws by lewd, trifling or illicit intercourse shall at once 
be punished without deliberation or consultation. It is not 
the same in this case as in the case of farmers, artisans or 
traders." In article 88 speaking of debauchery, it is declared 
that '*it should be judged and punished according to the 
degree in which it constitutes a bad example for the lower 
classes." Each person from the lowest to the highest was 
expected to conform his conduct to certain conditions im- 
posed upon his class. The mere spectator or man of leisure 
was not provided for. Hence a Japanese family reared in 
the old style is made up of a group of persons all engaged in 
busy employment, each with his or her allotted task perform- 
ing the duties of the day willingly and cheerfully. 

Lastly the sentiment of loyalty was a bond of union unit- 
ing each with the interests of all. Filial piety is the greatest 
virtue of children and loyalty the greatest virtue of the elders. 
Under the feudal regime to die for one's lord is not an act of 
sacrifice, it is an act of duty. Under the modern constitu- 



THE SECRET OF JAPANESE SUCCESS 109 

tion it is a sense of obligation to advance the welfare of the 
country. Patriotism is not only a strong sentiment in Japan, 
it is a quasi-religious institution. The sense of the state is 
extraordinarily developed,^ thus contrasting vividly with the 
conditions in China where the sense of the state has been 
almost non-existent. Every step of progress in Japan dur- 
ing the past forty years has been attained by government 
action and the people have in the great majority of instances 
loyally supported their government. In Corea and China 
where loyalty to the government as an instrument of pro- 
moting the common welfare is relatively feeble, there are 
factions swayed by foreign interests — the Russian party, 
or the English party. But who has ever heard of a Japanese 
faction under the sway of a foreign power? Such a faction 
would be instantly condemned by public opinion. There 
is in the structure of Japanese society not a crack or cranny 
in which any foreign interest can insert its disintegrating 
wedge. The Japanese will accept foreign institutions, 
their science and inventions, with avidity but only to the 
extent, as they understand it, of leaving the social organiza- 
tion intact. What secondary influences these foreign inno- 
vations will exert in the future it would be hard to state./. 
It must be admitted that Japan is bound to face difficulties 
in the future arising from her economic transformation 
greater even than those of the past and calling for all the 
resources of her statesmenship and patriotism. 
■ Thus far at least Japan has done wonders in all the fields 
of modern endeavor. At present America is torn by con- 
flicting opinions as to the best method of regulating the enor- 
mous aggregations of capital. Are we in any position to give 
advice to Japan — as we did forty years ago — on this intri- 
cate problem. Have we any ability to spare for the service 
of any other government when our own government seems 
absolutely helpless in the face of these powerful combina- 

* lyeyasu is credited with the saying "The world is the world's world and ', 
> not one man's." So also Uesugi Harunori, Lord of Tonezawa said: "The 
I State has been transmitted by our forefathers and should not be exploited 
I for selfish purposes. The people belong to the State and should not be ex 
I ploited for selfish purposes." 



110 GARRETT DROPPERS 

tions? Yet Japan has met this difficulty in at least one 
instance with directness and courage. Some years ago the 
American Tobacco Company secured practically a monopoly 
of the tobacco manufacturing business of Japan by buying 
out the principal tobacco manufacturers. It was quite 
evident to the Japanese that this business was in the grip of 
a trust and without much delay or hesitation the Japanese 
government urged and secured legislation permitting it to 
buy up all the tobacco manufacturing interests and convert- 
ing the private into a government monopoly. Since then I 
do not know of another combination of capital of the same 
sort. ''Why this is socialism" some Americans will exclaim. 
I can give the absolute assurance that no country is less social- 
istic than Japan. She simply met an issue as it stood, with- 
out any extensive theorizing beyond the acknowledged prin- 
ciple that governments are instituted to maintain the general 
welfare. Japan took hold of the industrial monopoly prob- 
lem in the same manner that she met the banking problem. 

' Foreigners who have lived a few months, or even years, in 
Japan are likely to underestimate the strength of the Japanese 
merely because the individual Japanese often seems to be 
unable to cope with the individual American or Englishman 
of the same standing or occupation. The strength of the 
individual Japanese does not he particularly in his own self 
rehance and ability. Standing alone he is likely to be want- 
ing in a sense of certainty, independence and power. But 
the inference from this observation is often mistaken. The 
Japanese soldier is capable because he is part of a cohesive 
system which by inheritance he trusts. His own death does 
not trouble him — he recognizes that he is only a fraction of 
a larger group. When the war with China broke out it 
was confidently prophesied by many foreigners who had only 
a superficial knowledge of the Japanese, that the Chinese 
would be victorious. These foreigners overlooked the fact 
that the Japanese army had behind it an organized govern- 
ment second to none in the world, while China though supe- 
rior in resources and men, was wanting in the very elements 
of such a government. 

\ Japanese scholars who have made a comparative study of 



THE SECRET OF JAPANESE SUCCESS 111 

Japanese and Western institutions are well aware of the wide 
differences between the two types and admit the advantages 
and disadvantages of both. But they all inevitably tend to 
accept their own type, with all its defects, as making for 
success in competition with foreign nations. We may quote 
in support of this view the opinions of Professor Junjiro 
Takakusu, Director of the Tokyo School of Foreign Lan- 
guages. He says: ''What is the secret of the corporate 
unity and oneness of spirit of Japanese soldiers and their 
remarkable discipline? What is the reason for the superior 
sanitation and commissary arrangements of our army? 
What is the reason for the utter scorn of death, which 
seems almost animal-like and that passionate patriotism 
which possess us. And finally what is the reason for the 
absolute security of mihtary secrets. We must confess that 
looked at one by one we are weak but when massed together 
we are stronger than Western soldiers. And furthermore we 
Japanese have not only assimilated Western knowledge and 
mechanisms, but we have improved upon them in not a few 
cases, as for instance the Shimose gunpowder, the Murata 
rifle, the Arisaka gun and the Kimura wireless telephone. 
Our Red Cross Society while at first copied from the West, 
has attained a unique pitch of perfection and our relief of 
soldiers' families, our system of information, our care of 
prisoners of war and our issuing of government bonds, have 
all demonstrated that we can subordinate private and per- 
sonal interests to public welfare, so that it is not too much to 
say that among the peoples of the world we are considered in 
this respect to be an ideal army and nation." (From the 
International Journal of Ethics, October, 1906.) He then 
gives his answer to this question. ''The primary cause for 
all these phenomena is that in Japan the family is the unit 
whereas in the West the individual is the unit of society." 
And by family Professor Takakusu means not an institution 
in our sense of the word — but rather the family in its original 
and patriarchal sense. "In Japan," he adds, "the family 
system leads to mutual succor and mutual cooperation on the 
part of all those who are at all connected with it. The honor 
and glory of the house are the first concern of all. If there 



112 GARRETT DROPPERS 

is want in one section it is made up by another. And these 
famihes gathered together into groups, make a village, and 
groups of villages infinitely multiplied make a corporate 
nation It is this principle of mutual obliga- 
tion which has given birth to Bushido and to the spirit of 
patriotism. A parent whose son is killed, although at first 
he may be inclined to rush to help yet will grit his teeth and 
say like Masaoka, ' It is for the sake of my lord and master,' 
that is for the state. When a telegram comes from army 
headquarters telling of the death of a husband on the battle- 
field, it is this spirit that makes wives rejoice that their 
husbands have fulfilled a soldier's duty. And from this 
same principle have come the wonderful military discipline, 
the contempt of death, the esprit de corps, the scarcity of 
Russian spies." 

It may be asked whether a social structure in which the 
individual is so strictly subordinated to the group, whether 
the group be the family, the community or the nation, is 
as capable of developing the interesting qualities of life as is 
a form of society in which the individual has more play. 
This is a difficult question. Human nature adapts itself 
to varying conditions and resents any change unless it is 
stirred by a keen sense of wrong or by a passionate aspira- 
tion for the right. The average human being is far more 
inclined to accept revolution than reform, because the former 
can be accomplished by an abandonment to enthusiasm while 
the latter calls for the cooler qualities of investigation and 
mature judgment. But it has always seemed to me that the 
life of the ordinary Japanese, hemmed in by social barriers 
of ancient origin, limited by a severe social discipline, must 
be a dull affair compared with Ufe in the freer West. But on 
the other hand a Japanese appreciates far more than the 
average American the small increments of freedom which he 
is permitted to enjoy. And even this freedom he attains only 
after a long apprenticeship to a severe discipline. A Japan- 
ese finds it difficult to cast off restraints — the social discipline 
is likely to be a weight which he cannot readily throw off. 
His moments of spontaneous good fellowship are fewer than 
with us. He is often secretive or ceremonious where an 



THE SECRET OF JAPANESE SUCCESS 113 

American would be open and human. For in the end he 
knows that he may not follow his own judgment but will 
have to be obedient to another and greater power. It often 
happens that the spontaneous friendliness which has existed 
between an American teacher and his Japanese student is 
converted a year or two after graduation into a strictly for- 
mal relation. The young man has become part of a social 
mechanism — he is no longer free to say or do what he likes 
or even to cultivate the friendships he wishes. For him 
Roma locuta est. 

But on the other hand no one can withhold his admiration 
from a people who are willing whenever the call is made to 
subordinate private to public interests. There are many 
notable examples of this trait in the past fifty years, none 
perhaps greater than the surrender of the feudal fiefs in 1871 
by the daimyos to the Emperor. It was an act of supreme 
sacrifice of a powerful yet partial interest for the good of 
the whole. Hundreds of the feudal lords were reduced to 
comparative poverty and milhons of their retainers lost their 
ordinary means of subsistence. Five years later the samurai 
yielded their right of wearing two swords — almost as great 
an act of renunciation as the surrender of the fiefs. Even 
the Bakufu government in 1868 made but a feeble resistance 
when it was once understood that public opinion was in favor 
of its abdication. During the more recent period of the Res- 
toration there are many instances of the same kind. There 
is no private interest in Japan sufficiently powerful to antag- 
onize the interest of the state. When it became evident 
after the war with Russia that the railways of Japan must be 
owned and operated by the government in order to maintain 
her military efficiency, the transfer from private hands to the 
government was completed in a short period of time without 
much controversy or friction. This principle that all pri- 
vate interests must conform to the general good will in the 
end, I believe, be a solvent of all future economic issues of 
Japan and keep it in the very forefront of civilized nations. 

The secret of Japanese success is their social solidarity, 
their oneness of aim and purpose, their cohesion of interests. 



114 GARRETT DROPPERS 

and above all their faith in the supremacy of their govern- 
ment, as an instrument of the common welfare. 
^ To turn for a moment from Japan to our own country. 
No one can fail to note the confusion of private interests 
at present in America, the chaotic advice, the uncertainty 
of any constructive policy by the government. The leaders 
of commercial and industrial enterprises are dissatisfied 
with the existing conditions and yet make no suggestion for 
a more rational policy. Unrestrained monopoly cannot 
be tolerated, yet every restriction is met by bitter opposi- 
tion and criticism. Are we inferior to the Japanese in patri- 
otism, in capacity or in public spirit? Is our love of private 
gain so overmastering that it cannot yield to a more gener- 
ous sentiment? The policy of "jamming things through," 
in America, whatever the obstacles may be, may produce a 
few leaders of capacity and power, but their gain must ulti- 
mately be the nation's loss. In such men the sense of the 
state is atrophied. They do not perceive the cohesion of 
interests, the interrelation of parts, and resent any sugges- 
tion that their activities must be subordinated to larger con- 
siderations.^ To such men the Japanese point of view would 
be devoid of vitality and adventure. Such men are blind 
to the secret of Japanese success. 



* On this point see The Future in America, by H. G. Wells. 



THE PROGRESS OF JAPANESE INDUSTRY 

By Hon. William C. Redfield, Member of Congress 

When I set forth to find out, if I could, what the industrial 
situation in Japan actually was, by meeting the men who 
were doing the work and by visiting the factories and the 
mills in that country myself, I had no idea of using the in- 
formation save for the perhaps sordid purpose of adding to 
the business of my own factory. Least of all had I a thought 
of appearing before such an audience as this and talking 
about it. I would very much rather speak to you about 
something a little less material. I should like to tell you 
something of Nikko and its wonderful temples. I should 
like to go over again my trip along the inland sea. I should 
like to have you go with me over to the island of Awaji, on 
a little steamboat, which was built for short men, and on 
which I could not stand up at all the whole forenoon. Those 
are the things I should enjoy telling you. Then, too, I 
should not like to seem to you unappreciative of the art and 
the traditions of art in Japan. 

But it falls to me to talk with you on the economic side 
of the life of that great people. In so doing, I am going to 
try to avoid figures all I can and to touch as much as pos- 
sible upon the fundamental basis of all economics — their 
human side. For you and I have been told too often that 
economics are a dreary thing. They are not, unless the food 
we eat, the clothes we wear, the work we do, the incomes we 
want and the money we spend, are dreary things. Those 
are human things, and he who would see economics thor- 
oughly, must see and grasp the human side ere he attempts 
to apply figures. One is the bones of the science; the other 
its living life-blood and the flow of its every activity. There- 
fore, I want you to see a picture and not a form only. I 
want you to grasp a growth and not a theory. I want you 
to see a people evolving out of poverty into comfort, and not a 

115 



116 WILLIAM C. REDFIELD 

question of exports and imports. I don't care how much a 
Japanese artisan earns in a day. I care very much if it 
enables him to hve a better Ufe. So let us learn the evolu- 
tion of Japan's industry in that way, so far as we can in the 
brief time we have. First let us divide our subject as the 
ministers of old did, that we may look at it with a certain 
amount of intelligence. We will speak of it, therefore, in 
four ways — the evolution of Japanese industry, the basis of 
Japanese industry, the outlook of Japanese industry, and, 
finally, Japanese industries as competitors and customers. 
Among them all we should fairly cover our theme. 

To begin with, there is no other country in the world so 
interesting to the observer of industry as Japan, because it is 
almost the one country among them all where the old and the 
new in industry are going on side by side, each in full vigor. 
The day of the handicraftsman is nearly gone in Massachu- 
setts. It is gone in England. It is gone in Germany. But 
in Japan the handicraftsman still reigns supreme. Side by 
side with an enormous mass of most skillful and artistic 
handicraftsmen goes on the modern factory system, and 
we must admit that in equipment, in size, and in manage- 
ment, the great Japanese factories have little to learn from 
Massachusetts. It is a matter, therefore, of extraordinary 
interest to see these two great phases of industry operating 
together. Not only that, but they may be seen on a very 
considerable scale. I should like to take you all fibrst to 
Kioto for many reasons. I should like to get you out of 
Yokohama as speedily as I could. To my mind Yokohama 
is a sort of foreign mushroom growing on Japanese soil. I 
did not like Yokohama; I did not like its atmosphere of 
gain. So we will pass from it and go where we may find old 
Japan at work in Kjoto. And now, ladies and gentlemen, I 
hope your purses are full, for when you enter Kioto, you will 
need your purse reasonably well filled — not thatthe pri ces 
are so high but that the goods are so attractive. I really 
regard Kioto as one of the most dangerous towns for the 
traveler from a financial standpoint that I ever knew. If 
you go into the Damascene shops and watch them in-laying 
in gold and silver, and then pass to the great potteries of 



THE PROGRESS OF JAPANESE INDUSTRY 117 

Kin Kusan, where there were nine hundred artists working 
at decorating porcelain when I was there, I am afraid, if you 
are fond of the fine porcelains that Kin Kusan put out, that 
you will say goodbye to your financial prudence. 

In the old city of Kioto, the ancient capital, then, you find 
the beautiful, artistic industries of Japan in full force and 
vigor; they are wonderfully intricate and wonderfully beau- 
tiful to see. It is amazing and instructive to us with our 
mechanical ideas to see the close artistic work of the Japanese 
workmen in the old city of Kioto. 

Now take the train for an hour to the south, and you come 
to Osaka with its million of people and its cotton mills; 
you have gone from the old world to the new, from the handi- 
craftsman to the factory. You have left behind you the 
ancient and the artistic, and have come down to the sor- 
did commonplace of a weaving-room and a spinning-room. 
Osaka is full of great cotton mills, and from there southward 
it is but a step again to Kobe and Hiogo, where in the great 
mills of the Kanegafuchi Cotton Spinning Company you 
will find a prosperity in the cotton industry which would 
make New England sit up and think. It was my good for- 
tune, at their request, to take the steamer over to the little 
town of Sumoto, where I believe I was the only foreigner 
and where I was received with cordial hospitality. I could, 
if I had time, tell you of the interesting experience of going 
into a cotton mill and showing them how to start up a piece 
of machinery — showing them how it worked, which was 
rather an unusual experience for a lone foreigner on a 
Japanese island. 

From there we will go to Nagasaki and see the women carry- 
ing baskets of coal. On my visit there, Mr. Matsuyama 
of Mitsui & Co., Ltd., told me that these women have a 
record of loading as much as eight thousand tons of coal 
in a single day. It may interest you, as showing the 
change that is going on, to know that he also told me that 
the day of the women workers loading the coal was passing 
away, because, although they received only somewhere from 
twelve to twenty cents a day in our money, it was cheaper 
to-do the work with modern coal handhng machinery, and 



118 WILLIAM C. REDFIELD 

I was consulted as to what it should be and as to where it 
should be installed. In a very short time this one of the 
picturesque indijstrial phases of that particular port of 
Nagasaki will also have passed away. 

Then at Nagasaki it is rather a striking thing for an Amer- 
ican to walk out into a shipyard under a great ship of 21,000 
tons, designed, built, to be managed, manned, officered, by 
Japanese, a ship with triple screws, a passenger vessel equipped 
with every modern convenience. Only a few days later I 
had the pleasure of traveling on her sister vessel to Manila. 
It makes one ponder, in view of the collapse of American 
shipping, to see such a vessel as that built in this Japanese 
yard, owned by Japanese owners and officered by Japanese 
officers, and built of the steel made at the Imperial Steel 
Works. One realizes that Japan in that important industrj'- 
has become or is becoming independent. Not that the steel 
works ever have paid a profit; indeed, they have not. But 
they are run by the government, with the government as 
their largest customer; and they are at least sufficient to 
make the Japanese free, so far as her iron and steel supply 
is concerned, from the need of consulting other nations. In 
the making of machines, the building of ships and the manu- 
facture of cotton, as I have said, we find in Japan in full 
operation — and in many cases in successful operation — all 
that we have here at home in scientific manufacture. Nor 
must we regard the men who control these interests as men 
whom we can teach very much. Mr. Matsukata, who is 
the head of the Kawasaki Dock Yards, is a graduate of Yale 
University. Another gentleman, the head of a large cement 
works, is a graduate not only of Yale but also of the Massachu- 
setts Institute of Technology. One of the heads of these large 
factories was a member of the Harvard Club. You often run 
across men with American education, to which has been 
added European training and European brains, a combina- 
tion which has made a certain selected number of these 
Japanese exceptionally skilled and able men. 

Right here I want to say a work on the subject of Japanese 
commercial honesty. There is not anywhere in Europe or 
America a group of men higher in honor, more clear in 



THE PROGRESS OF JAPANESE INDUSTRY 119 

thought, more dehghtful to meet, more able in their work, 
than the set of Japanese gentlemen who are operating these 
great industries. We must forget all that we have heard 
coming from such centers as Yokohama as to tales of com- 
mercial dishonor, I am perfectly aware that in some re- 
spects Japanese commerce has not reached the heights of 
our highest ideals, but at its best it is as good as ours, and 
the best brains and thought of the nation are determined 
that it shall be always at its best. Very briefly, then, Japan 
presents the spectacle of the old and the new in industry, 
progressing side by side. 

Now as to the bases on which her industry rests. Japan 
lacks large, free capital. She is as yet a comparatively poor 
people, as counted among the great nations — poor I mean 
in the sense of accumulated cash resources. Her capital 
is equally small. Her industries are handicapped by the 
lack of abundant capital for their expansion. That is one 
of the fundamental facts about Japan which is basic to all 
thought of the present and the future of the empire. The 
national debt of Japan is almost identical with that of the 
United States, while her population is but half. The na- 
tional debt is largely held abroad. The strain upon the 
finances of the empire to carry on the necessary public works 
is very great. Many of these important public works are 
being deferred now for lack of the ready means to carry 
them on. Only for a moment will I touch on a few fig- 
ures. The taxes of Japan have grown enormously in the last 
few years. The debt, which was in 1871 about $2,500,- 
000 is now about $1,100,000,000. The taxation has grown 
in like proportion, from a total of about $36,000,000 in 1894 
to a total of $160,000,000 per annum in 1909. Japan is not 
a rich country in cash, and nobody knows it better than the 
men who govern Japan. When I was there, the question 
of the development of the railway system was being con- 
sidered with great care. It is urgently needed. The roads 
are all narrow gauge, and at times the industries suffer for 
railroad facihties, but the improvement even at Japanese 
wages would cost hundreds of millions of dollars. The 
question has been postponed, with other improvements, 



120 WILLIAM C. REDFIELD 

because Japanese funds are not sufficient now to carry on 
those very large works. 

Yet I do not want you to get the impression that Japan 
is in any sense insolvent. It is not. Her statesmen are 
guiding her with rare self-sacrifice and with uncommon wis- 
dom, and her treasury shows a surplus every year. It is 
simply that her growth has been so rapid and her outreach so 
large that she lacks, as other nations do the ready cash 
with which to do the work as fast as she would like to do it. 

Japan rejoices, on the other hand, in a wealth of labor of a 
remarkable character. I suppose there is no more thrifty, 
able, capable worker than the average Japanese. He is 
accustomed to living to his satisfaction on the most limited 
scale. He is of good mental and physical capacity, and 
capable of becoming a very great factor in industry. One 
of the fundamental facts in Japan is her splendid supply of 
abundant physical labor. Let us think a moment what our 
condition would be, if we could only cultivate about one- 
fifth of our territory. That is the case in Japan. A frac- 
tion less than 20 per cent of the land of the empire, speaking 
now of Japan itself, is arable. The other four-fifths is moun- 
tainous or of such a character that it cannot readily be 
cultivated. The holdings of the farmers are very small. 
They average about four of our acres, taking the whole em- 
pire together. And the result is that the population presses 
very closely upon the means of supplying food. Hence the 
Japanese exports his population; hence he has become a colo- 
nizing people; hence he goes whither he can to improve 
his circumstances. 

The fact of the abundance of labor and of the pressure 
upon the means of living have combined to keep wages in 
Japan very low. Here we touch upon the third vital fac- 
tor in Japanese industry — first, that the wages are low as 
compared with ours, and second, that they are rising very 
rapidly. For example, the wages of a mill weaver in the 
year 1907 were 0.42 of a yen. A yen being fifty cents, that 
was something less than twenty-five cents of our money to- 
day. But a weaver's wage has risen since 1905 from 
0.18 to 0.42, or more than double. That of the shoemaker 



THE PROGRESS OF JAPANESE INDUSTRY 121 

rose from 0.41 in 1905 to 0.58 in 1907. And in every other 
Japanese industry, without going into too much detail, one 
finds the same advance in wages. So we have for our other 
element upon which to base our Japanese industry very 
cheap labor, but labor which is rapidly advancing in price. 
You cannot assume in discussing Japanese industry that the 
wage there is fixed, even for a short time to come. 

But on the other hand, the Japanese mechanic is not 
trained yet in the mechanic arts, in the arts of handling ma- 
chinery. He has had no chance. There are some in the 
great factories, but not enough. This Japanese Year Book, 
which I have before me, frankly says that it takes three Jap- 
anese mechanics to do the work of one European or American 
mechanic. That is merely a matter of training. The presi- 
dent of the big cotton mill that I have mentioned wrote to 
me that in ventilating his mill I must figure on three to four 
times as many operatives to do the work as was the case in 
our New England mills. 

As regards the materials of industry, the empire extends 
over so great a latitude that the material products range from 
the sub-arctic to the sub-tropical of Formosa, and from the 
sea products of the ocean to the continental supplies of 
Korea. Formosa, I suppose, is one of the most productive 
countries of its size in the world. The sea products are a 
great source of wealth in Japan. She draws lumber from 
Formosa, and northern Korea; cotton from Korea, and lum- 
ber also from Karafuto. The empire is rich, of course, in 
silk. A little more than one-quarter of all the world's silk 
comes from Japan, and about 60 per cent of all we use in 
America is derived from there. She has no cotton on her own 
soil save that which is about to come rather than has come 
from Korea. She draws some of it from India, more from 
China, and most from the United States, but she is no worse 
off in that respect than England, the largest of all cotton 
manufacturers, who draws her supplies wholly from abroad. 

Japan is blessed with ample materials for power. She 
has abundant coal and a very widespread and abundant 
supply of water power from the numerous streams coming 
rom the mountain ranges. Consequently, Japan offers 



122 WILLIAM C. REDFIELD 

a great field for the development of electric light and power, 
which is being very rapidly taken up. I have the pleasure 
of knowing the gentleman who operates the largest coal 
mines in Japan, and from them now they are making coke, gas, 
coal tar, ammonia, and other products. 

To these resources she adds a market in China which is 
right at her doors and of its kind is the largest of the world; 
and the presence of that market just across the way is the 
reason why the cotton spinning industry took hold first in 
Japan and has progressed the most. She has already made 
her presence felt in our cotton mills in eastern New England. 
Some of the Chinese trade we used to have she has taken 
away, and will continue undoubtedly to take more, because 
she possesses a peculiarly intimate knowledge and sympa- 
thy with that market, and a closeness of touch with it, that 
no other nation can possibly have. We must expect for a 
time at least to lose a certain amount of our cotton trade in 
China to Japan. There is, as I have said, this great oppor- 
tunity in the textile field. The four hundred or so millions 
of China are across the way and offer a magnificent market 
that Japanese brains are thoroughly familiar with and Jap- 
anese energy intends to look after. 

The outlook for the iron and steel industries is not very 
bright for Japan, for she lacks a good supply of iron. But as 
Japan is a colonizing people, and as her people spread into 
the rich country of Formosa and Korea, and to the north, 
there is certain to come from the increase of wealth derived 
from their labor and thrift in these relatively uncrowded coun- 
tries, a largely increased demand for the industries of Japan, 
which will give her a domestic market which she has hereto- 
fore lacked; so that Japan will come, normally, to find her- 
self somewhat in the position that Germany occupies. 
Considering the great industrial countries, we would say 
England has very largely an exporting market. There 
are not people enough to take nearly all of the output of 
her factories. The United States has almost entirely a do- 
mestic market, the foreign sales of merchandise being only 
one-twentieth of our output. Germany, on the other hand, 
has both a domestic and foreign market, and into that happy 



THE PROGRESS OF JAPANESE INDUSTRY 123 

position Japan is evolving, by reason of her development of 
Korea and Formosa and of Karafuto at the north, as well as 
of her own territories, — and to which she may add the great 
market at hand in China. 

Now if in Korea and in Formosa there is applied, as there 
is sure to be applied, the wonderful system of intensive cul- 
tivation which exists in Japan, there cannot fail to come 
from those countries a great increase in the agricultural 
wealth of the empire, and also in her domestic buying power. 
We may, therefore, look for a growing demand for Japanese 
industry which will speedily bring the prices of the wages up 
and the prices of the commodities up just as they have pro- 
gressed in the past. 

Side by side with these there is every reason to believe that 
the great porcelain industry in Japan and her other handi- 
craft work will continue to grow and to expand as it has done 
for centuries. This country itself forms one of the largest — 
perhaps the largest — market of Japanese porcelains, and 
there is no reason to doubt that that great branch of her 
industry, in which she is so far advanced, will continue for 
many decades to come.' In porcelain and other arts Japan 
holds a unique place; we all would be losers, were those in- 
dustries to suffer. 

There is every reason to think, therefore,that the outlook of 
Japanese industries, save those of iron and steel perhaps, is 
one of exceptional brightness. If so, what is to become of 
us? What is the position of Japan as a competitor? It is 
not for a moment to be expected that a nation as capable 
and intelligent as the Japanese will fail to supply the largest 
part of their own things so far as they have the material 
sources that enable them to do so. It would be absurd to 
think that anything else would be the case. It is not to be 
expected, either, that they will fail to supply the great 
Chinese market with cotton goods and with everything else 
they are able to take to a market which they understand 
better than anybody else and which is just across the road 
from their own mills. We must expect, therefore, for the 
present to lose a certain amount of trade in Japan in goods 
that we have been selling them but which they now make or 



124 WILLIAM C. REDFIELD 

will come to make themselves. We must expect also to lose 
a certain amount of our Chinese market for the very same 
reason. But the very prosperity that will come to Japan, 
as Korea and Formosa and the other lands develop under 
her keen agricultural touch, the very growth of these indus- 
tries arising from her Chinese market and her own growing, 
will increase the needs of Japan for things she does not make 
and must buy. That is always the rule as nations grow in 
industry. Furthermore, her labor, growing in productive- 
ness, will grow in wage, for the wage is always based — whether 
the employer will have it so or not — ultimately on what 
the man produces, and as Japan produces more, her laborers 
will earn more. So it will not be true long that Japan will 
have any such advantage in price in the world's markets as 
is now represented by the difference in wages between her 
artisans and ours. Today for a given duty they employ 
a good many more people than we. In some of her indus- 
tries too, she must frankly be admitted to be backward. 
Her locomotives cost more than ours do, and we sell them 
there and have 720 running on the Japanese railroads. 

Some Japanese are very backward in certain ways. It is 
a very curious sight to see women driving piles for a building, 
which goes on all the time in Tokyo. The human being is 
still used as a draft horse, but the time is not so very far 
distant when the Japanese artisan can employ his time better 
than by pulling a jinriksiha through the streets of Tokyo. 
That will evolve out of existence just exactly as the coal 
handling woman is being evolved out of existence. With 
this evolution toward a higher wage comes the evolution 
toward a larger demand, and that demand will not be con- 
fined in Japan to the things that Japan produces any more 
than it is confined in America, or in England, to the things 
those countries produce. So, while there may be painful 
processes of readjustment, in the ultimate result what is 
good for Japanese commerce is good for American com- 
merce, and that is true of any commerce anywhere. I have 
small patience with a narrow view of commerce, which 
makes it war between one man and another. Commerce, 
if it be a true commerce, is a thing that helps buyer and sel- 



THE PROGRESS OF JAPANESE INDUSTRY 125 

ler, and whatever, therefore, aids the buyer of Japan to buy, 
aids certainly the Americans to sell. So there is no reason 
to doubt that by the very act of her taking away a market 
here and there, she becomes better able to buy other things 
that we desire to sell. 

The industry of Japan is in a sub-normal condition. The 
handicrafts are highly evolved and perfected. The factory 
system is well developed in some ways, but not largely de- 
veloped and not highly perfected. There does not yet exist 
the great mass of artisans from whom a factory manager 
can draw a large supply of skilled labor at will. It has to be 
made. It is being made very rapidly. Her industries are 
not in the condition where we can speak of them as in any 
degree fixed. Neither are ours in this country; they change 
from year to year with startling rapidity. Hers are far less 
fixed than ours. They have to develop rapidly, and they 
have developed rapidly. We cannot form from the indus- 
tries of Japan today any sound judgment as to what those 
industries will be ten years hence. This much we can say; 
they are certain to expand. Their artisans are certain to 
grow in number and in earning power. Japan is bound to 
gain rapidly in wealth. Her people are industrious and 
thrifty — very much hke the French in both of those respects; 
and if she increases in wealth and in the growth of her indus- 
tries, she will become — we must expect it — one of the great 
and growing factors in the commerce of the world. But 
for that reason no less our friend and no less valuable a 
customer for our produce. 



THE FOREIGN TRADE OF JAPAN 

By R. Ichinomiya, Manager of the New York Branch of the 
Yokohama Specie Bank 

It is my purpose to present to you a brief review of what 
Japan has accomplished in her foreign trade, and at the same 
time to call your attention to a few points in the way of sug- 
gestions that may be of interest to students of the Interna- 
tional relations of American commerce. There is no ques- 
tion but that Japanese foreign trade has made enormous 
strides since the breaking up of the policy of seclusion. 
Taking the total of the import and export trade during the 
year 1880, as representing a basis of one hundred units, and 
calculating from that the progress which the annual trade 
has subsequently made, we obtain the following results: 
1880, 100 per cent; 1885, 102 per cent; 1890, 212 per cent; 
1895, 408 per cent; 1900, 756 per cent; 1905, 1245 percent; 
1910, 1419 per cent; and in the last named year the grand 
total of imports and exports reached in value Yen 922,622,- 
804. That the rate of progress made in the initial stages 
was not as rapid as in later years is simply due to the primi- 
tive methods used then and to the many other difficulties 
to be met. It may not be amiss to mention a few of these 
difficulties. 

The primary, and perhaps most serious, was in the ignor- 
ance of the foreigners and Japanese of one another's language 
and customs. Merchants, whether Japanese or foreign, 
could not, except in the rarest instances, confer with each 
other on business matters directly, and were compelled to 
employ special clerks, generally Chinese, as interpreters. 
The one aim of these men was to obtain their commission 
on the business done through their offices, just as now in the 
open ports of China, so that it was but natural that they 
should be indifferent to the development of trade. The only 
alternative was that one of the two parties, either the for- 

126 



THE FOREIGN TRADE OF JAPAN 127 

eigners or the Japanese, should learn the other's language, 
trade customs and needs, with other relative matters, and 
so master the situation. And in this respect it would seem 
that the Japanese have taken the initiative. This tendency 
to do away with the middleman was extended to the Occiden- 
tal merchants residing in Japan in so far as many of them 
were simply go-betweens, intermediaries between the real 
im^porters and exporters and not between the producers and 
consumers. They had little or no experience in actual trade, 
and usually lacked capital as well, but in the primitive stage 
of foreign trade they could get along nicely. Taking no 
pains to adapt themselves to the changing conditions, it was 
only natural that this class should have been gradually pushed 
aside when affairs became more orderly and real commercial 
competition came into existence, the result being the inevit- 
able complaint against the winner of the business competi- 
tion. 

The reform of the monetary system was of very great 
assistance to the development of industry and the progress 
of trade. The national bank regulations, promulgated in 
1872, modelled on the national bank act of the United States 
of America, being a total failure, an amendment to that act 
was passed in 1883 taking from the national banks the privi- 
lege of note issue and granting this exclusively to the newly- 
created Bank of Japan, a central institution, suitable meas- 
ures being taken for the redemption of the outstanding national 
bank notes. Thus, by the end of 1885, there was no longer 
a disparity between paper money and coin, then mostly in 
silver, and in 1886 the system of specie payments was restored. 
The depreciation in the value of silver was always a great 
hindrance to the people in international commerce, however, 
and it was not until 1897 that this trade disadvantage, 
caused by an irregular and unstable fluctuation in exchange 
rates, ceased to exist when the imperial diet -passed a statute 
on the currency and a portion of the gold received from China 
as an indemnity was applied to the national reserve. Thus 
the foundation of the gold standard system was firmly laid, 
and Japanese foreign trade entered upon its second stage of 
expansion. 



128 R. ICHINOMIYA 

With the development of transportation and communica- 
tion both on land and sea, Japanese merchants were no longer 
dependent upon foreign firms established in Japan, but grad- 
ually began conducting the import and export business on 
their own account directly with foreign nations. The tend- 
ency of Japanese foreign commerce then took on a different 
aspect, and began to show a steady increase particularly in 
the importation of raw materials and in the export of finished 
articles, indicating the healthy growth of the home industries. 

Apart from a consideration of the staple products of Japan 
for export, most important in determining the prospects of the 
country's foreign trade is the question as to what opportunities, 
facilities, aptitude and financial capacity Japan possesses for 
developing her industries. I may say without fear of con- 
travention that the country contains practically all the ele- 
ments *essential for her great advancement industrially. 
Japan wants the raw material, for she cannot produce within 
her limited area all she requires for the industries which are 
bound to expand almost without limit. Her geographical 
advantage in lying between such countries as China, India, 
Australia and America, enables her to import at a moderate 
freight rate, such raw materials she may need as cotton, 
wool, the various minerals, etc. The only question that 
remains is for her to exercise a wise discretion in the choice of 
suitable markets in which to make such purchases. The 
supply of motive power is ample. Besides possessing exten- 
sive coal mines, the utilization of her fine water power is 
proceeding rapidly, the results to be seen in the electric- 
lighting, traction and many other fields. Japanese labor, 
skilled and unskilled, is plentiful, and in spite of the gradual 
rise in the standard of living, is still comparatively inexpen- 
sive. The increasing importation of the most modern ma- 
chinery of all kinds, together with the increase in quantity 
of Japanese manufactured goods, certainly shows the knowl- 
edge and skill of the Japanese workman are not of low grade. 

The only thing that Japan has lacked, and still lacks, for 
the development of her industries, is sufl&cient capital. In 
spite of the increase of national wealth it is to be regretted 
that the supply of working capital cannot keep pace with 



THE FOREIGN TRADE OF JAPAN 129 

the demand. The investment of foreign capital, therefore, 
is eagerly sought; and in this connection I may state that when 
foreign money is invested, the burden of the working end 
of the business should rest solely upon the Japanese, for the 
the ability and trustworthiness of the younger generation in 
business affairs is beyond question, and the expense is very 
much less than for men of other nations. 

Criticism of the commercial morality of the Japanese has 
been heard occasionally, and the employment of Chinese by 
foreign banks in Japan and China mentioned as an evidence. 
The Japanese are not commercially unmoral. To begin 
with, out of 2173 Japanese banks in Japan, with resources of 
3634 million Yen, not one has ever employed a single Chinese 
with one exception, the Yokohama Specie Bank, Limited. 
This bank, it is true, did formerly employ a few Chinese in 
its Yokohama and Kobe offices, and for the one and only 
reason that those offices are engaged in the business of foreign 
exchange, especially in relation to business with China, but 
the bank has since discontinued the employment of Chinese, 
and no Chinese today employed by any bank or commercial 
concern in Japan. In European and American banks and 
mercantile houses conducting business in Japan the number 
of Chinese employees is very limited, if indeed any are still 
employed. These banks continue their employment simply 
because it was the Chinese who originally entered their service, 
and as long as they are willing to remain, there is no reason 
why they should be replaced by Japanese. These Chinese 
do not of course hold important positions, and were originally 
employed not because the Japanese were considered morally 
inferior to them, but for more practical reasons, one historical 
and the other commercial. China having for many years 
been a silver using country, and there being no proper coin 
of fixed weight, size and fineness, but silver bullion of every 
description as to fineness and size being used as a medium of 
exchange, the Chinese people have naturally become more 
or less experienced and trained not only to easily distinguish 
good silver from bad, but almost to tell its fineness by the 
ring of the metal when touched with a metal rod. It is 



130 K. ICHINOMIYA 

therefore quite natural that so-called silver experts are 
found among the Chinese. Considering the monetary sys- 
tem prevailing in China, these people are quite necessary for 
the banks that are carrying on business in that country. 
Before Japan adopted the gold standard, as I previously 
explained, silver was practically the only circulating medium 
in Japan. Even trade dollars were used to supplement the 
Japanese coinage. Japan having had legal tender notes and 
coin issued by the government for generations, her people 
naturally lacked the acquaintance with, and consequently 
the knowledge of silver bullion, and were not so well fitted 
to detect the variation in fineness as the Chinese experts. 
This is the reason why a few Chinese silver experts were at 
one time employed even in Japan by the Yokohama Specie 
Bank, Limited, a Japanese concern engaged in international 
exchange, and in similar lines; but with the gold standard 
firmly established in Japan, there was no longer a reason for 
the employment of Chinese silver experts in that bank or 
in any foreign banking institution in Japan. 

There is also a commercial reason for the employment of 
Chinese by the foreign banks. According to commercial 
usage among the Chinese, the seller of a shipment of goods 
draws a clean bill of exchange upon the buyer, but not a doc- 
umentary bill, i.e., a bill of exchange with the shipping docu- 
ments attached. In other words, they do not hypothecate 
the goods to the bank as security for the draft. It is, there- 
fore, difficult for the bank to determine whether a clean draft 
which they are about to negotiate, is actually commercial 
paper or not. To be able to act intelligently on this point, 
and also as there is no Chinese mercantile agency that can 
supply the desired information regarding the financial stand- 
ing of Chinese merchants, as is practiced in Japan and else- 
where, it has been considered advantageous for the bank to 
employ a reliable Chinese whose influence and financial 
responsibility may be sufficient to safeguard the interests 
of the banks. But, as I have stated before, the tendency to 
.do away with any kind of middlemen, and to reach the objec- 
tive directly and straight, seems to prevail also in this direc- 



THE FOREIGN TRADE OF JAPAN 



131 



tion; and as far as Japan and Japanese institutions whether 
banking or commercial are concerned, there no longer exists 
any necessity for Chinese employment. 

In order to further explain the increase of foreign com- 
merce along the lines of the fundamental principle of trade 
progress, I will take the aggregate import and export figures, 
for the year 1901, of raw or partly manufactured materials 
on the one side and the finished products on the other, the 
unit being 100, and compare themwith the ten years following. 
Thus: 





EXPORT 


IMPORT 


TEAB 


Raw or half manu- 
factured material 


Finished articles 


Raw or half manu- 
factured material 


Finished articles 


1901 

1902 

1903 

1904 

1905 

1906 

1907 

1908 

1909 

1910 


Per cent 

100 
99 
103 
109 
95 
135 
152 
132 
147 
153 


Per cent 

100 
103 
124 
139 
137 
157 
147 
124 
143 
168 


Per cent 

100 
126 
150 
167 
193 
149 
198 
164 
173 
217 


Per cent 

100 

73 

75 

83 

127* 

129* 

131* 

92 

87 

85 



* The increase in the years 1905-06-07 is due to the effect of the Russo- 
Japanese war and the subsequent post-bellum boom. 



The progress and expansion of any undertaking depends 
internally upon the material influences and externally follow 
the lines of least resistance. When the above figures are 
analyzed it is interesting to note that while the raw or half 
manufactured materials have increased largely in both export 
and import generally, the manufactured articles imported to 
Japan, do not correspond with such an increase. On the 
contrary, in the case of exports, these will show a very large 
increase in the trade with those countries where the home 
industries are not much advanced, but a smaller increase, 
or rather a decrease, to those countries where home industries 
are in a flourishing condition. Even though making due 
allowance for the effect of the tariff, the following figures of 



132 



R. ICHINOMIYA 



the trade with the United States of America and China will 
clearly indicate this tendency: 

To the United States of America 





EXPORT 


IMPORT 




Raw or half manu- 
factured materials 


Manufactiired 
goods 


Raw or half manu- 
factured materials 


Manufactured 
goods 




Per cent 


Percent 


Per cent 


Per cent 


1901 


100 


100 


100 


100 


1902 


114 


101 


122 


76 


1903 


108 


135 


110 


96 


1904 


134 


158 


144 


97 


1905 


120 


161 


234 


284 


1906 


174 


171 


177 


130 


1907 


185 


168 


198 


145 


1908 


179 


130 


183 


171 


1909 


196 


133 


137 


79 


1910 


204 


180 


133 


105 




To China 






1901 


100 


100 


100 


100 


1902 


114 


108 


154 


59 


1903 


156 


193 


173 


68 


1904 


180 


152 


209 


70 


1905 


260 


221 


202 


35 


1906 


225 


290 


221 


33 


1907 


261 


243 


257 


23 


1908 


161 


188 


246 


36 


1909 


140 


229 


251 


37 


1910 


135 


289 


304 


14 



The antiquated idea that one may gain by underselling 
another is giving place to the behef that ultimate success 
must come through cooperation. Unhealthy price-cutting 
competition will naturally result in a deterioration in quality; 
and even if one succeeds, after a prolonged struggle, perhaps 
selling ataloss, in beating down his competitors, he will awake 
to a realization that his market is gone and that there is no 
longer a demand for his product at all commensurate with 
the damage done to it. In direct foreign trade Japanese 
merchants have had a number of such unfortunate experi- 
ences. For example, I may mention that Japanese mattings, 
imported into the United States of America, were subjected 



THE FOREIGN TRADE OF JAPAN 133 

to duty of 3 cents per square yard on quality up to a cost 
value of Yen 7.71 per roll, and on anything above that value 
were subject to a duty of 7 cents per square yard and 25 
per cent ad valorem additional, the idea being to make the 
importation of the finer sort of Japanese matting absolutely 
impossible, so protecting the American carpet manufacturers. 
This arrangement put practically the maximum limit on the 
price of Japanese matting to be imported. In spite of the 
difference between the maximum and minimum limit, which 
is the cost of producing, being thus very small, the Japanese 
attempted a cut-throat competition with one another in the 
sale of mattings, this naturally resulting in the deterioration 
of the quality of goods and nearly in the destruction of the 
market. Reestablishment of the market and improvement 
in quality have since been in order, but even under the recent 
tariff revision, it seems to take a very much longer period 
and still harder labor to restore the old market. 

I do not mean to say that there should be no competition, 
but I do mean that competition of a negative character always 
results in harm to the trade. On the contrary, if competition 
is directed toward the positive side, that is toward improve- 
ment in quality at the same price, more durability and use- 
fulness, reduction in the cost of production, prompt delivery, 
better and cheaper transportation facilities, etc., the result 
may be altogether different. There is an old Japanese prov- 
erb which reads, ''There is no poverty that overtakes a 
handworker, " meaning that prosperity is only the reward of 
hard work. This is now obsolete, and does not hold good in 
our modern business. Hard work along the same old line 
does not bring satisfactory results; all it can hope to accom- 
plish is the maintenance of the old position without advance- 
ment. Hard work accompanied by improvement in methods 
will alone obtain progress. In pushing the foreign trade, the 
most important qualification is the knowledge of the language 
and customs of the people that are met with in that trade. 
Wants and requirements of a local and particular character 
must from time to time be investigated and studied so as to 
leave no changes unnoted. In the trade with the Orient, 
especially with China, where a vast future is in store, it is 
not so easy a matter to meet the requirements. In this 



134 K. ICHINOMIYA 

respect I can safely say that the Japanese, owing to their 
geographical, racial and linguistic advantages, are the people 
best fitted to acquire the foremost position. Next to the 
Japanese will come the Germans. If you will notice how 
the German merchants both in China and at home are work- 
ing along the line I have indicated, you will not wonder that 
they have made such remarkable progress in the Oriental 
trade during the past few years. 

The Germans at home for instance have had a school of 
Oriental languages, including Japanese, for fifteen years, and 
are studying every method to push the sale of their merchan- 
dise in East Asia. Some of the German salesmen go so far 
as to adopt the Chinese dress and Chinese queue. You 
are aware how the Chinese cling to their calendar. The Ger- 
mans have noticed this, and never fail to mark their goods 
according to it. If, for instance, it is the year of horse, the 
Germans print a figure of a horse on the goods to be sold to 
the Chinese that year. So, in what might seem trivial mat- 
ters they seek the good will of their customers. These 
things are perhaps difficult for the Occidental manufacturers 
to understand; but unless they do try to understand them, 
they can never hope to obtain and retain a strong foothold 
in the Oriental trade. Chinese habits and traits, in particular, 
are difficult for Western people to comprehend, but so long 
as China is talked of as one of the world's greatest markets, 
then, intending traders will have to surmount these difficul- 
ties in one way or another. In this connection, what seems 
to me the most practical and natural way is to bring about 
cooperation of the Western manufacturers and Japanese 
merchants, the Western manufacturers attending to the pro- 
ductive end and the Japanese to the selling end of the business. 
A few of such cooperations has already been proved by experi- 
ence. The General Electric Company is manufacturing and 
selling electric machinery in Japan in cooperation with the 
Shibaura Works of Tokyo. The Western Electric Company 
is in similar cooperation with the Japan Electric Company. 
These cooperative methods have been remarkably successful. 
Vickers and Maxim of England have established a steel 
foundry in Japan in cooperation with the Hokkaido Colliery 
and Steamship Company of Japan. 



THE FOREIGN TRADE OF JAPAN 135 

In any cooperation of American manufacturers and Japan- 
ese merchants, the Americans will probably have to supply 
the raw material, and skill of a certain kind, perhaps one 
or two superintending engineers and foremen. The Japanese 
must attend to the selling end in Japan and China. They 
are better qualified for that part of the business than the 
Americans, for they understand the customs and tastes of 
the Chinese, and have facilities in promoting the trade not 
possessed by the Western people. Successful manufacturers 
are not always successful salesmen, and no business can pros- 
per unless it prospers at the selling end. This consideration 
seems to emphasize the advisability of the American manu- 
facturers seeking Japanese cooperation. Frequent trouble 
occurs, however, when the Western people demand a con- 
trolling power in a company to be established in Japan upon 
such a cooperative basis. If the Western people insist upon 
such a controlling power, then it would be useless to attempt 
to start a cooperative business. It would defeat the object 
of the cooperation fundamentally. The usefulness of the 
Japanese in the cooperative arrangement comes from the 
exact knowledge of the requirements of the consumers, and 
how to comply with those requirements, a condition essential 
to the making of any business successful. Now if the Western 
people have the controlling power in the cooperative factories, 
they will not adopt the suggestions made by the Japanese 
in the way of satisfying the peculiar tastes of the Oriental 
consumers, and will model their manufactories and their 
products in the Western way. The desire of the Western 
people to have the controlling power in the factory to be 
established in the East, has been and will continue to be 
a stumbling block in the way of the successful execution of 
any cooperative business. If the American people attempt 
the cooperation on broad principles, and with a trusting 
spirit towards the Japanese, the system will prove one of the 
most successful of modern business methods. The Japanese, 
I can say without hesitation, are ready and willing to avail 
themselves of such opportunities; and they will stand for 
the principles of ''the open door and equal opportunity" 
both in domestic and foreign trade. 



MEDICINE IN JAPAN: ITS DEVELOPMENT AND 
PRESENT STATUS 

By John C. Berry, M.D., formerly Medical Director of Dosh- 
isha University Hospital, Kyoto 

The earliest historical period of Japanese medicine is 
shrouded in mystery and may properly be termed the 
mythical period. As in Egypt, Greece and other ancient 
countries, it was the age of the "demi-gods." It extends 
from the dawn of Japanese history, supposed to be 700 B. 
C. to about 100 B. C, a period of six hundred years. Early 
traditions attribute the source of the first knowledge of the 
cure of disease to the teachings of two dieties, known in 
Japanese history as, 0-Na-Muchi-No-Mikoto and Sukuna- 
Hiko-Na-No-Mikoto. It is hinted by modern scholars 
that these earhest ideas of the treatment of disease origi- 
nated in China and Korea. Still the medical knowledge 
of the period has always been popularly regarded as ema- 
nating wholly from the Japanese themselves. 

Tradition informs us that experiments were early made 
upon monkeys to determine the action of certain vegetable 
substances possessing supposed remedial virtues, of which 
thirty-seven were thus tested and employed in sickness. 
These consisted chiefly of roots and the barks of trees and 
represented the sum total of the Japanese materia-medica 
of that period. Attempts at the study of anatomy were 
made, monkeys being dissected in the hope of thus learning 
the arrangement of the organs of the human system. The 
knowledge of anatomy thus gained was but little advanced, 
save in very limited circles, for a period of about two thousand 
years. Observations were also made as to the age to which 
people hved and the tradition is preserved, "that few lived 
beyond one hundred years." 

This was looked upon as the age of pure Japanese medi- 

136 



MEDICINE IN JAPAN 137 

cine and its principles were jealously defended when, in 
later years, the Chinese system was introduced. In this earlier 
age no attempt seems to have been made to investigate 
the causes of disease, the whole range of treatment being 
entirely symptomatic. Yet the profession of medicine was 
held in high esteem, the medical men of the country being 
mostly related to the imperial house and to noble famihes. 
In the reign of the twelfth emperor of this ''divine age" the 
custom was changed and ''elderly men of experience" were 
allowed to assume the responsibihty of treating disease; while 
those unable to pursue other vocations might be employed 
in digging medicinal roots and in gathering herbs. It is 
further said that when monkeys were kept for the scientific 
purposes referred to, persons of both sexes, infirm from birth 
and who could not do regular manual labor, were given the 
task of caring for them. 

It is interesting to note that the Japanese, in that early 
age, anticipated the modern scientific use of the monkey for 
the testing of drugs. It has long been recognized by 
modern men of science that there is no animal that so nearly 
resembles man, in the effects produced by drugs, as the 
monkey. 

It is of equal interest to note that the four elements, wind, 
fire, water and earth, were employed to explain the various 
phenomena of human life. Tradition reports the second 
emperor as saying nearly six centuries before Christ; "It 
is discovered by the great skill of the heavenly gods that 
the human body is made of four elements, wind, fire, water 
and earth, and by their combination to possess the body 
with the soul." This was also the teaching of Empedo- 
cles, the Greek philosopher, 450 B. C. 

The same theory was held later by Egyptian and Grecian 
philosophers, one of whom, Hippocrates who lived two hun- 
dred and fifty years later, originated the science of modern 
rational medicine. He held that the body is made up of 
four elements and from these are derived the four humors — 
blood, phlegm, bile and black bile, these humors, in turn, 
determining the temperament of the individual in which 
one or the other may predominate — sanguine, phlegmatic, 



138 JOHN C. BERRY 

bilious and melancholic — a classification used by westerners, 
to some extent, even today. 

The Japanese regarded the cause of disease as originating 
either from the spirit of air or of water. 

The country is of volcanic origin and volcanic upheavals 
of varying severity have been of frequent occurrence during 
its history. These seismic disturbances have produced numer- 
ous hot medicinal springs in different parts of the country 
and these were resorted to for the treatment of diseases 
in this early age, as at the present time. 

^ Cold water was early employed in the treatment of fevers 
but the use of this remedy was later abandoned for a period 
of seven hundred years, namely from the twelfth to the nine- 
teenth century A. D. Mingled with these more rational 
methods tradition assures us that successful treatment of 
disease frequently required the exorcism of evil spirits. To 
what extent this superstition and the religious treatment 
of disease was due to the later introduction of Buddhism is 
difficult to determine. It should be remembered that these 
statements are based upon legendary mformation as pre- 
served in records dating 712 A. D., at which time authentic 
Japanese history began. 

Among the occult phenomena popularly believed to enter 
into the aetiology of disease, the superstition of fox posses- 
sion should here be noted. The animal is supposed to assume 
human form by placing a skull on its own head, facing the 
north star and then, by prayers, genuflections and rapid 
circulatory motions, rapidly take on the human form. As 
a girl, he is made responsible for many starthng tales and 
experiences. 

1 1 well recall the haggard appearance of a young man as 
he came to the hospital chnic one morning and sitting before 
me gravely asked to be relieved of his disease of ''fox posses- 
sion." His story was, that on the previous evening, as he 
had attempted to go home from a neighbor's house, his 
path leading along a ravine between the mountains, the 
light of his lantern, in some mysterious manner, suddenly 
went out. Wandering for a while, he discovered a light in 
the distance, which he took for that of his own home. As 



MEDICINE IN JAPAN 139 

he walked, however, this light receded and finally disap- 
peared. In wearinesss he sank to the ground. There now 
appeared to him a beautiful woman, who directed him on his 
way. She too finally vanished but to his joy the road led 
to his home. 

To dispossess the person of this hallucination is usually the 
proud work of the priest. He gravely says to the patient, 
"I will perform for you religious ceremonies and prayers 
and if you will go to such a temple, offer there your prayers 
and your offerings, you will immediately be relieved. " The 
result usually verifies the promise — a pure case of mind cure. 
' The name of this animal seems to have been taken from 
a legend occurring 545 A. D. Ono, a native of Mino, 
greatly longed for his ideal of feminine beauty, who finally 
appeared and became his wife. With the birth of their son 
was also born a dog in the immediate neighborhood, which, 
when grown, became intensely hostile to Ono's wife. One 
day the dog attacked her with unusual fury, when she, in 
uncontrollable fear, assumed her former shape, leaped over 
the fence and disappeared in the form of a fox. "You may 
be a fox," cried Ono, as he saw his wife disappear, "but 
you are the mother of my son and I love you; Ki-tsu-ne- 
Kitsune.'^ And so every night, as the shadows gathered 
and the dogs were in kennel, she came back and nestled in 
his arms; hence the name Ki-tsu-ne, "Come and sleep." 
\ The second period in the history of Japanese medicine 
extends from 100 B. C. to 700 A. D. and embraces the period 
known as the extended introduction of Chinese medicine. 
This includes Korean medicine many of whose physicians 
and learned men came to Japan as teachers and as practi- 
tioners during this time. Kempfer repeats a legend of the 
coming of the first foreign physician: In the reign of the 
Emperor Kogen, 214 to 158 B. C, a physician from China 
with three hundred young men and an equal number of 
young women, came to Japan, "his real purpose being to 
escape the tyranny of his own government." In order to 
be permitted to leave China, he represented to his emperor 
that there existed in Japan the medicine of immortality, 
but so sensitive and tender were the plants from which it 



140 JOHN C. BERRY 

was procured, that it would only yield its virtues when 
handled by virtuous hands. If, therefore, success was to 
crown his efforts, he must have the assistance of the company 
proposed. His request was granted. The place of his land- 
ing in the province of Kii is still shown, as also the remains 
of a temple once erected in his honor, "for having intro- 
duced good manners and useful knowledge. " 

"^ Following the military invasion of Korea by the Empress 
Jingo Kogo, 201 A. D., increased medical knowledge was 
brought into the country and this was further increased 
in later years by the coming of botanists to study the medi- 
cinal flora of the country. Later it became the rule to collect 
these herbs on the fifth day of the fifth month, a custom 
observed at that time even by members of the Imperial 
house. The knowledge of human anatomy was shown by 
the belief that there was a hole in the liver which communi- 
cated direct with the heart. 

^ In the sixth century Buddhism was brought to Japan. 
Shortly after this an epidemic of some skin disease prevailed. 
Some claimed that this punishment was in consequence of 
the introduction of the new religious faith, while Buddhist 
behevers claimed it was a punishment from Heaven because 
of the burning of a Buddhist idol by command of the Em- 
peror. One of the court officials faUing sick of the disease 
was permitted to pray to Buddha for relief, the first act of 
its kind recorded in the history of Buddhism in Japan. The 
officer recovered and this led to the use of charms against 
disease and to the offering of prayers to Buddha for relief 
from sickness. From that time to the present, Buddhist 
priests have sought to perform the double duty of priest 
and physician. Buddhist teaching, too, increasingly empha- 
sized the older theory that all human suffering arose from 
the discord of the spirits of the four elements, and the treat- 
ment of disease, became increasingly a religious rite, and the 
priest a rehgious healer. 

In 669 A. D. a school of learning was established by the 
Emperor Tenshi and thirty years later a medical department 
was added. In this school was taught the Chinese system 
of internal medicine, materia-medica, cultivation and curing 



MEDICINE IN JAPAN 141 

of medicinal plants, acupuncture, massage, diseases of the 
skin, and bone complaints. The students were chiefly the 
sons of officials and the entire course of study covered twelve 
years. An interesting custom prevailed of requiring physi- 
cians having official appointments to send to their ahna 
mater their first year's income as an ''expression of their 
gratitude" for their education. This was doubtless a return 
in part of the allowance made by the government to medi- 
cal students, that all their time might be devoted to study. 
Later this "return gift" was fixed at one-tenth of the income 
from the first year of practice. In 735 A. D. a severe epi- 
demic of smallpox appeared, which led the more observing 
to carefully study the disease. Though this was known 
in China as early as the beginning of the Christian era, a 
full description of the malady was not recorded in Japan 
until 1323, nearly four centuries after the first accurate 
description was given of the malady by Rhazas, the Arabian 
physician. 

In 806 A. D. a severe plague visited the country and the 
friends of ''Japanese medical art as taught in ancient times 
by men and gods" joined in the agitation lest this fact 
should be forgotten. They finally persuaded the reigning 
emperor to believe that the plague was a punishment from 
High Heaven for so completely ignoring the legacy received 
from earher patriots, and adopting, instead, the foreign 
(Chinese) method of treating disease. A medical work 
was accordingly prepared embracing one hundred volumes, 
which elaborately set forth the principles and the practise 
of the more ancient and honored system. This led to a 
government edict and so severe were the requirements im- 
posed upon physicians, and against Buddhism, that any 
medical officer of the court who should even meet a Buddhist 
priest or nun on the street was incapacitated for duty for 
that day; and should he make a mistake in his prescription or 
in the writing of his directions, the physician was to be 
punished by a three years imprisonment and a fine of eighty 
pounds of copper coin; while should any impurity be found 
in the medicine given, sixty lashes were to be administered 



142 JOHN C. BERRY 

and a fine of eight pounds of copper coin imposed by the 
emperor. 

This enforced reform, however, was of but short duration 
and the Imperial successor, Saga, restored the Chinese 
system with its Buddhistic philosophy, which continued, 
with varying successes, to the latter part of the nineteenth 
century. 

Y One remedy given to the west, the moxa, requires notice. 
Its employment as a means of counter irritation received 
early emphasis by the Japanese and its use remains at pres- 
ent a popular remedy. The traveler in Japan today will 
probably be drawn by a jinriksha cooUe, who will have several 
black spots on each side of his spine or along the shin bones, 
the marks of the apphcation of this remedy. It is made 
from the flower of artemisia vulgaris, popularly known 
as burning grass or, in Japanese, mo-gusa. A work of sev- 
eral volumes was early written, giving the diseases for 
which treatment by moxa was indicated and the rules for 
its apphcation, and Kempfer gives an elaborate summary 
of this treatise under twenty-six different headings. The 
Dutch, witnessing its value as a counter irritant, adopted 
it, but instead of using the combustible grass, sought the 
same end by the use of the hot iron, retaining, however, 
the Japanese name, mo-gusa, the "moxa" of the present 
day. 

As an example of the philosophy underlying the practise 
of medicine at this time, the conversation between a pupil 
and teacher may here be quoted: "Why does cold, when 
taken into the system result in fever?" asked the pupil 
Kotei of his teacher Ki-Haku, and the latter replied, "Heat 
is produced at the point of extreme cold. If, therefore, 
one contracts cold in winter, he suffers from fever in the 
spring time." 

\ The third period of Japanese medicine extends from about 
600 to 1500 A. D. This period simply marks an extension 
of Japan's intercourse with China and India and the gradual 
but sure increase of the Chinese system of medicine, during 
which time it became more highly developed than in the 
country of its birth. From the middle of thetwelfth century, 



MEDICINE IN JAPAN 143 

however, political interests and military exploits claimed 
increasing attention, leading men to abandon literary and 
professional pursuits and to seek honor in war. The gov- 
ernment now withdrew in part its patronage from learn- 
ing and priests again came to the front as medical practi- 
tioners, some of them ultimately becoming men of learning. 
The old "natural method," the pure Japanese system, now 
found many stanch advocates and in time greatly modified 
and improved the Chinese system. Among these advocates 
was one Nagata Tokuhon, 1512-1630 A. D., who Uved to 
the age of one hundred and eighteen years. In his practice 
he sought to work with nature. It is related that a certain 
nobleman, sick of a fever, called Tokuhon for his medical 
opinion. ''What do you like and dislike most?" was the 
first question asked by the physician, and to this the sick 
man rephed, "I should hke to eat some water-melon, to 
have all of the clothing removed, to have the screens taken 
from around me and thus allow a freer circulation of air." 
This was accordingly permitted and, further, he was allowed 
to drink cold water as desired, a procedure prohibited at 
this period by the physicians of the Chinese school. Toku- 
hon's theory was that nature afforded indications as to 
what the system most needed. If called to treat a person 
suffering from any nervous disease, Tokuhon would give 
httle attention to medicinal treatment; but would, rather, 
search for the causes of the disorder, and often effected a 
cure by working upon the mind of the patient. For instance, 
were the patient a farmer and anxious that it should rain, 
he would speak to him of the probabilities of an approach- 
ing storm ; were she a woman, anxious because of the long 
absence of her husband, he would assure her of his speedy 
return; or if a young girl, converse with her about mar- 
riage; and so, sometimes by exciting anger, sometimes 
sorrow, again by inflicting physical pain, or, indeed, through 
fear, he would arouse his patients to health, ''or to that 
condition in which he could be best reached by simple medi- 
cines. " Tokuhon had a large following. In 1543 A. D., forty 
years after the discovery of the passage around the Cape 
of Good Hope, a Portuguese merchant vessel came to the 



144 JOHN C. BERRY 

shores of Japan. This was an event of the greatest moment 
to Japanese medicine and was the beginning of a long, inti- 
mate and helpful relation of the Dutch with the Japanese. 
Up to that time Japan had held relations with Asia only — 
Korea, China and India. In 1549 Francis Zavier, a Jesuit 
missionary, began his work and a few years later a hospital 
was estabhshed in connection with this Jesuit mission, and 
placed in charge of Dr. Lewis De Alemeida. The Nobunaga 
government treated these Europeans kindly and in 1568 
A. D. gave a piece of ground ten acres square in Kyoto, where 
a church was built and land given sufficient to yield two 
thousand bushels of rice annually toward the maintenance 
of the mission. Two medical priests were connected with 
this church and conducted a dispensary for the poor. To 
favor the medical side of the work, a still larger piece of 
land, was placed at their disposal for the cultivation of 
medicinal and other plants, of which it is said some three 
thousand different kinds were planted. Climatic conditions 
favoring their growth, a rich addition was thus made to the 
medicinal herbs and to the flora of the empire. 

A few native students of medicine now attached them- 
selves to these foreign instructors, and surgery, heretofore 
unknown, began to be practised. The circulation of the 
blood became better understood. "The Dutch physicians 
possessed knowledge," declared the historian of the day, 
''but they were exceedingly rough in applying it; while the 
Chinese system of medicine is restrained by the conserva- 
tive teachings of the past." The old Japanese school 
again forged to the front and included many learned and 
influential leaders. Literary attainment was now regarded 
as necessary in the physician, and many scholars mini- 
mized the importance of distinctively medical knowledge 
and claimed that any philosopher in close touch with nature 
could grasp her secrets and correct the penalties of her 
broken laws. Numerous books on the treatment of disease 
were written by laymen, to the utter confusion of the medical 
knowledge of that day 

In 1750 A. D. the theory of "negative and positive essences 
and of the five elements" was held and practiced by many 



MEDICINE IN JAPAN 145 

Japanese. The new theory was that disease is a poison 
and isdue to a poison. Poison should be attacked by 
poison and when we have destroyed the cause of disease, 
the disease itself disappears. By this process, however, 
there is loss of Gen-ki, or vital spirit, which must be restored 
and nature aided to resume her sway. Disease was now 
claimed to come within human control and death from 
sickness was declared to be due to ignorance rather than 
to the decree of Heaven. The teachings of Mencius, the 
student of Confucius, doubtless influenced this theory, 
he claiming that we can hold Heaven responsible for death 
of friends only after the utmost means have been employed 
for their recovery. 

" The political intrigues of the Jesuits and of the Portuguese 
now aroused the hatred and indignation of Hideyoshi, the 
Shogun who had succeeded the Nobunaga reign, and by the 
harshest possible means he expelled them from the country. 
Some knowledge of the medical art of these men was pre- 
served by their native students, but the event lessened 
foreign intercourse and retarded the development of educa- 
tion and of medicine. With the cutting off of intercourse 
with the Portuguese and the Spanish, the old friends of Japan, 
the Dutch, now enlarged their relations and these were 
soon supplemented by the English — in sharp rivalry, with the 
Dutch for the commerce of the country. This rivalry continued 
until 1621, when the English withdrew and the Dutch con- 
tinued their trade at Nagasaki. Here they were always care- 
ful to have, among other officers of this branch of the Dutch 
East India Company, a physician. Among these physi- 
cians many were noted for their ability, as Doctors Armans, 
Schambergen, Hoffmann, and Kempfer. 

Christianity was still under the ban of the government 
and the importation of all religious books was strictly pro- 
hibited. This prohibition, however, did not include the 
study of medicine, and the Japanese interpreters of Dutch 
were allowed the freest intercourse with the Dutch physi- 
cians, in order that they might learn their art. This gave 
rise to a school of medicine known as the ''Orlander" or 
Dutch school. 



146 JOHN C. BERRY 

' As previously noted, the pathology of European medicine 
at that time differed so little from that of the Chinese (the 
former being founded upon the doctrine of Hippocrates and 
Galen that all bodily ills arose from a disturbance of the 
four humors, blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile, 
while the Chmese ascribed all physical troubles to disturb- 
ances of gas, air, blood, and phlegm), that the Chinese school 
had reasonable ground for contention that the basic princi- 
ples of their own art were quite as good as those of the West. 

Smallpox was an early bane and, in the gregarious habits 
of the people, wrought terrible havoc among them. Vacci- 
nation finally afforded relief and is today compulsory and 
universal. Doubt existing as to the origin of vacci- 
nation in Japan your speaker, in 1884, with the assistance 
of native members of his hospital staff, made careful inquiry 
into the early records of its introduction, and learned that 
this was done by the Dutch physician, Mohniki. The 
child of his interpreter, Yegawa of Nagasaki, was the first 
to be vaccinated. A portion of the resulting scab was sent 
north to a Kyoto physician, Hino-Tozai by name, who 
vaccinated his grandchild. From this child virus was sent 
to a physician in the province of Yeehizo, from which time 
the practice rapidly spread and that too, in spite of the strong 
opposition of the Chinese school and the still potent influence 
of a year-old proscriptive edict of the Shogun. The benefi- 
cent result of vaccination against smallpox was now increas- 
ingly recognized and constituted another influence making 
for the popularity of the western system. Later, in 1858, 
a vaccination institute was established in Tokyo, which, 
under the efficient superintendence of the board of health, 
became one of the best in the world and has, for now more 
than twenty-five years supplied with virus the surgeons of 
the Asiatic squadron of the American navy. 

Up to the latter part of the eighteenth century the knowl- 
edge of western medicine had been gained chiefly from the 
teaching of western physicians in Japan. At this time, 
1771, A. D. Gempaku Sugita (1733-1817) a "descendent 
of a house of hereditary physicians loyal to the Dutch 
school," became the possessor of two Dutch anatomical 



MEDICINE IN JAPAN 147 

books. The illustrations in this work differed so widely 
from the heretofore accepted knowledge of human anatomy 
as taught by the Chinese school, that Sugita and his friends 
were anxious for an opportunity to compare the two with 
human organs. The government was therefore petitioned 
for its assistance and, in response, permission was granted 
for the dissection of an executed criminal. As the drawings 
of the two schools were compared with the organs of the 
human body, it was at once seen that the resemblance to the 
Dutch plates was exact, while the teachings of the Chinese 
school were false. A new era of possibilities for medical 
science now opened, for the realization of which a knowledge 
of the Dutch language constituted the key. Accordingly 
Ryotaku Maeno, Gempaku Sugita, and Junon Nakagawa 
met at Yeddo on the fourth day of March, 1771, to begin 
the study of the Dutch language. In three years these 
men acquired proficiency as translators, ''wrote and re- 
wrote the Tafel Anatomia eleven times" and finally, at the 
end of four years, gave to the country the result of their 
labors in the New Treatise on Anatomy. These men now 
became the center for the study of the Dutch language 
and of the history and life of western countries and a few 
years later, 1808, "when an English ship entered the harbor 
of Nagasaki contrary to the orders of the Tokugawa govern- 
ment,' ' fuller knowledge of the nations of the west became 
imperative, — a knowledge which these same scholars and 
their pupils could now give. Two books, Hokuhen Tanji, 
Things Northern, and Bashin Hiko, Private Opinions, soon 
appeared and in 1811 a translation bureau was established 
by order of the government and Gentaku Otsuku, a student 
of Dr. Sugita, placed in charge — the first scholar of western 
learning appointed to an official position in Japan. The 
English language now became an object of study, which 
soon led to the translation of numerous works on general 
subjects. By the middle of the nineteenth century, a large 
number of Japanese physicians knew fairly well the literature 
of European medicine as then developed, and in all branches, 
save surgery, were fairly reliable practitioners. In spite of 
this, however, members of the Chinese school had such 



148 JOHN C. BERRY 

influence at court that they secured favorable response to 
their petition to the government that the practice of western 
medicine for internal diseases should be prohibited in Japan, 
on the ground that Europeans and Asiatics were dissimilar 
in their natures, and the medicine applicable to the one 
was not suitable for the other. As late as 1849, an order 
was issued making it necessary to secure government per- 
mission for authoritj'^ to translate books on western medicine; 
and as the ''censorship was in the hands of the government 
and therefore the friends of the order," a stop was practi- 
cally put to the further pubUcation of European books on 
medicine. This edict however, did not include the practice 
of surgery, which, based upon what had proved to be accur- 
ate anatomical knowledge, was permitted to be practiced. 
]In 1852 Commodore Perry's visit to Japan produced 
such political and social unrest that popular clamor demanded 
the "strengthening of all national defenses and general 
preparation for war." Anticipating a sanguinary conflict, 
it was deemed a necessity that her surgeons be made 
familiar with the treatment of gun-shot and saber wounds. 
Such a work was translated and appeared in 1854 and there- 
after the opposition to western medicine, both by the gov- 
ernment and by the Chinese school, rapidly lost strength and 
(in 1857) a hospital and medical school for the teaching of 
European medicine was established by the government at 
Nagasaki, the Dutch phj^sician, Dr. Pompevan Meerder- 
voort, in charge. This event began the fourth period of 
Japan's Medical History. On the fifteenth of May of that 
year his inaugural address was given to the assembled stu- 
dents and their friends and Dr. van Meerdervoort began his 
work as the physician and surgeon of the first hospital estab- 
lished by the government. From this school the two most 
promising students, namely, Ito Gempaku and Hiyashi 
Genkai, were selected for Post Graduate work in Holland 
and were sent thither by the Japanese government — the 
first students to be sent to Europe for a medical education. 
Medical science, therefore, was the first to profit by Commo- 
dore Perry's visit, and since that time the value placed upon 
European medicine has been a strong link between the Japan- 



MEDICINE IN JAPAN 149 

ese and the west. Medicine, more than any other science 
given to Japan as the result of her intercourse with the Occi- 
dent, has bestowed upon her the greatest benefits, and her peo- 
ple today regard with gratitude and with confidence the work 
of her medical men as the most signal agency in the country 
for conserving health, increasing longevity and contributing 
to the nation's power. 

Following this, Japan's relations with America and 
England became increasingly intimate and English and 
American medicine exerted a strong influence upon her. 
The fighting which resulted from the war of the restoration 
immediately emphasized the need for surgeons, and Dr. 
William Willis, an English naval surgeon, was engaged to 
accompany the government forces. Willis was, fortunately, 
a man of thorough training and of noble character and did 
much to aid the Japanese. 

At the close of the first battle he was informed of the 
wish of the officers of the army to have the wounded of the 
government forces treated first, and the wounded of the 
enemy attended to later. Willis immediately protested 
against this course of procedure and emphatically declared 
that he would not allow his instruments to be unpacked 
unless all the wounded could be treated alike. He carried 
his point. This spirit of the government only reflected 
the spirit that had long prevailed in Asia, and is still too 
frequently seen in China, as regards the treatment of the 
wounded of the enemy. It was, however, in striking con- 
trast to the order issued by the Empress Jingo Kogo, when 
her troops were despatched for the invasion of Korea in the 
third century, which was, ''Spare all who surrender, but 
destroy all who refuse to yield." 

At the close of the war Willis was placed in charge of a 
large hospital in Tokyo, to which a medical school was a 
attached, and in which he was appointed professor of surgery 
He was the first to teach the Japanese aseptic surgery. 
The methods of English and American surgery thus 
early took root and the translation of English works were 
now made and widely read. 
^ It was Japan's first purpose to employ English and Amer- 



150 JOHN C. BERRY 

ican medical teachers, making the English language the 
medium for instruction, but the presence of a Dutch physi- 
cian at Nagasaki, who praised the rapid progress of German 
medicine in the late sixties, greatly influenced the choice 
of the government for German teachers; while the Rev. Dr. 
Verbeck, a Dutch-American scholar, a teacher of many 
of the younger officials and Advisor to the Japanese govern- 
ment, also recommended this latter course. The govern- 
ment, therefore, made known its wish to the German gov- 
ernment that medical teachers be furnished. This was at 
the time, however, of the Franco-German war, when the 
necessary surgeons could not be spared from the country. 
At its close, the military surgeons, Mueller and Hoffman, 
were sent to Japan, the first of a series of German teachers 
who for nearly forty years, continued to occupy professorial 
chairs at the University. 

During the late sixties and seventies a considerable num- 
ber of American and English missionary societies took up 
work in Japan. As it was the policy of the larger societies 
to locate a physician at every central station, it came to 
pass that a considerable number — eleven — were located in 
strategic centers of population, and each with a hospital 
and a surrounding group of dispensaries, became a local 
center of large medical interests. To these hospitals and 
dispensaries the native physicians, still practicing the 
Chinese system and now eager to learn all that was possible 
of western medicine, would bring groups of patients for 
treatment, and, on receiving clinical instruction concerning 
the diseases thus presented and their treatment, would depart 
to put into practice the knowledge gained. 

Dr. James C. Hepburn was the nestor of this number 
and led us all in consecrated and efficient service. He 
came to Kanagawa in 1859 but, unable to practice his pro- 
fession there because of the opposition of the Japanese gov- 
ernment, he moved across the bay to Yokohama — a con- 
cession for foreign residence. Here he opened a dispensary 
and being near the capital, his work, especially in surgery, 
made a profound impression upon the nation. In this 
he was aided at times by the English naval surgeons. 



MEDICINE IN JAPAN 151 

Students gathered around him both for didactic and cHnical 
instruction and thus his medical work became of the utmost 
value in allaying prejudice, and winning the confidence of the 
Nation. In 1873 at the age of sixty years he gave up his 
medical practice and devoted himself wholly to rehgious 
and hterary work. He was the first to compile a Japanese- 
Enghsh dictionary.^ From 1870 to 1880 medical institu- 
tions and medical and surgical knowledge rapidly increased. 
This was greatly favored by a government edict in 1875 to 
the effect that thereafter medical Ucenses would be granted 
only to those who could pass an examination in western 
medical science. The representatives of the Chinese school 
were allowed to continue their practice but they made no 
further effort to re-establish their prestige. They remain, 
in the writer's memory, as men of rare dignity, representing 
the best scholarship of their day, and as men, too, who 
received and who deserved, the respect and the confidence 
of their fellows. It cannot be doubted that the work of 
these men, in developing the system of Chinese medicine 
to a point far beyond what it ever became in the land of 
its birth, prepared the way for the rapid growth of medical 
knowledge in the generation following them. They labored 
as they beheved and prepared those who were to follow for 
a still larger service. All honor to their memory. 

In 1872 the writer, as a member of the American Board's 
Japan mission, took up residence in Kobe and was appointed 
as medical director of the International Hospital there, 
and the following year to the Prefectural Hospital in Hiogo. 
Called to assist in controlling a severe epidemic of beriberi 
in the prison, he recognized a disease of which little was 
known and therefore requested permission to perform a 
post-mortem examination, subsequently using the unclaimed 
bodies of criminals for dissection. This request was granted 

1 Other Medical Missionaries were: Dr. D. B. Simmons, Reformed Church 
Dr. Henry Lanning, Episcopal, Osaka; Dr. R. B. Tensler, Episcopal, Tokyo; 
Dr. Wallace Taylor, American Board, Osaka; Dr. Arthur Adams, American 
Board, Osaka; Dr. H. Faulds, United Presbytery, Tokyo; Dr. Palm, Edin- 
burgh Medical Missionary Society, Nigata; Dr. W. Norton Whitney, Friends, 
Tokyo; Dr. McDonald, Canadian Methodist, Shidznoka and Tokyo. 



152 JOHN C. BERRY 

by the central government — the first dissection of a human 
body made in that prefecture. 

In addition to the medical department of the Imperial 
Universit}'- at Tokyo, numerous medical centers were rapidly 
established, while many prefectural governments soon had 
their own hospital and medical class — in most cases presided 
over b}^ English, American or German physicians; while as 
soon as medical graduates were given to the country, these 
were employed in the larger hospitals first as assistants and 
then as medical chiefs. Thus in time the services of the 
foreign physicians became unnecessary. 

At present there are three higher medical schools in the 
country, namely, at Tokyo in the north, at Kyoto in the 
center, and at Fukuoka toward the south. The course 
of study is four years. The teachers are wholly Japanese, 
the services of all the foreign teachers having been termi- 
nated by resignation or death. The title given to the grad- 
uates is I-gaku-shi, or Master of Medicine. In addition 
to the above, there are now eight other medical schools, 
three supported by the prefectural governments in which 
they are located and five by the general government. The 
course of these latter schools is also four years, but the 
entrance requirements are lower than of the higher schools. 
Many of the graduates take post graduate work abroad, 
usually in Germany, while a number have studied in 
England and in America, some at the expense of the govern- 
ment. 

^ As is well known, the progress of medicine in Japan during 
the last thirty years has been unique. Physicians take 
early to specialties and form numerous fraternities for the 
promotion of the science. Of these there are thirty-nine 
prominent and prosperous associations, with many other 
minor organizations, and these deal with all the branches 
of medicine. They usually hold regular monthly meetings 
and many of these associations publish their own journals, 
in which are recorded the results of their investigations. 
Many of these associations have special laboratories and 
hospitals, and means for making the newest and most 
exhaustive researches. Some of these reports are printed 



MEDICINE IN JAPAN 153 

in English, some in German, but most in Japanese. Dr. 
Kitasato, distinguished abroad for having first discovered 
the diphtheria bacillus, and regarded in Vienna as having 
brought distinguished honor to the laboratory where the 
discovery was made, has one of the more celebrated labora- 
tories, the Bacteriological Institute at Tokyo. Here phy- 
sicians, both Japanese and foreign, may be taught the latest 
principles of bacteriology. 

V There are about fifty medical magazines now published 
in the country, many of which contain extracts from the 
latest English, American and German medical literature. 

I should add that all the common schools of the country 
now have physicians appointed to their care whose duty it 
is to look after the general health and sanitary condition 
of the pupils and to make thorough physical examinations 
at fixed intervals. At the last census there were 9664 
physicians thus employed. 

The laws relating to the practice of medicine and sur- 
gery require that every practicing physician or surgeon 
shall hold a license from the Government. These licenses, 
except in the case of persons who were in practice 
before the year 1875, and in certain other cases, can 
only be obtained upon passing a satisfactory examination 
in natural philosophy, chemistry, anatomy, physiology, 
materia medica, general medicine, surgery, ophthalmology, 
obstetrics and clinical diagnosis. The first four of these 
branches constitute the first, and the following six branches 
the second, or pass examination. These examinations, 
which are held semi-annually, in different districts of the 
several prefectures of the empire, are conducted by a special 
officer detailed for the purpose. This officer is assisted 
by a certain number of prominent physicians, chemists, 
and professors, who are residents of the locality in which 
the examination is held. The time and place of these 
examinations are fixed by the home department and appli- 
cations of candidates are required to be sent in at least one 
month before the examination takes place. The certifi- 
cates of candidates must be signed by at least two practis- 
ing physicians or teachers of medicine, and no candidate 



154 JOHN C. BERRY 

is eligible for the first examination until he has pursued his 
medical studies for eighteen months, and for the second, 
or pass examination, for three years. In case of rejection, 
the candidate may try again after six months. 

The home department is empowered to grant licenses 
to practice, without examination, to those possessing the 
diplomas of the government medical schools or of recognized 
foreign medical schools; also, in special cases, for districts 
where there may be too few educated physicians, and where, 
in his opinion, necessity demands the presence of others. 
An oflBcial list of physicians licensed to practice is issued by 
the home department, while the licenses of those who have 
given up practice must be returned to the government. 
The Ucenses of physicians guilty of grave misdemeanor or 
of crimes, may be revoked either for a time or permanently, 
as the home minister on consultation with the central sani- 
tary board may decide. 

The last report of the sanitary bureau shows that there 
were 35,160 physicians in the country, of whom about 
15,000 still practice, to some extent, the Chinese system, 
while about 7000 have graduated from the modern medical 
colleges. Of these latter, 1791 from the Imperial Univer- 
sity at Tokyo, 354 from that at Kyoto and 236 from the 
Imperial University at Fukuoka. These, 2381, hold the 
higher title of I-Gaku-shi, or Master of Medicine. There 
are 2898 pharmacists, 26,837 apothecaries, 25,959 mid- 
wives and 4034 veterinary surgeons. The latter come 
under the control of the Agricultural Department. 

The Sanitary Board 

V The importance of hygiene was much appreciated and 
greatly emphasized in the early seventies, and a thoroughly 
competent physician. Dr. Sensai Nagayo, sent to America 
to study our system of medical education and public health. 
Later he crossed to England, and to Holland for further 
study and then, returning to Japan, applied himself with 
great devotion to carry out among his people the knowledge 
he had acquired abroad. It was he who introduced the 



MEDICINE IN JAPAN 155 

licentiate examination for physicians and the most notable 
book contributing to their aid at that time was Hartshorn's 
Compendium, which, when translated, was enthusiastically- 
welcomed both by student and government. In 1876 this 
same Dr. Nagayo was sent to represent Japan at the Inter- 
national Medical Congress held at our Centennial Exposi- 
tion in Philadelphia. This was the first time that Japan 
ever sent a representative to a meeting of an international 
character. The helpful items of information which Dr. 
Nagayo there found were: the methods of taking statistics 
of births and deaths; for preventing infectious^ diseases; 
problem of water supply; disposal of sewage; treatment 
of refuse; sanitation in railway carriages; regulations for 
food and drink, etc. Shortly after his return a severe 
epidemic of cholera invaded Japan, affording an oppor- 
tunity for the use of the knowledge he had acquired abroad. 
But for the urgent demand arising from this fatal epidemic, 
for these preventive measures he would have experienced 
difficulty in overcoming conservative prejudice. Dr. Nagayo 
long remained at the head of the sanitary bureau and within 
twenty years Japan had made more signal progress in the 
practical application of sanitary science than any other 
nation in the same time. This she always acknowledged 
and still acknowledges as mainly due to the good influence 
of America and Americans. The value of the science of 
hygiene as enforced in Japan is especially emphasized by 
the fact that on the west she is related to countries where 
sanitary science has been but poorly understood and from 
which pestilence is so apt to invade Japan. This has empha- 
sized her appreciation of the value of sanitary science; 
and her recent experience in the Japan-Russian war, in 
which the medical board had no difficulty in enforcing its 
requirements among the soldiers, shows how intelligently 
it is understood and valued by both government and people. 
' Numerous hygienic societies exist and the Woman's 
Hygienic Association now has several thousand members. 
These hold frequent meetings for discussion and for instruc- 
tion by lectures. Hospitals are numerous, there being some- 



156 JOHN C. BERRY 

thing over 1000 in the empire. Many of these are private; 
some are charity hospitals; and a few are for lepers. 

Nurses 

\ When your speaker, in 1883, proposed the estabUshment 
of a nurses' school and the training of Japanese women 
for the work of nursing, he was met by opposition, both 
from Japanese and from resident Europeans, on the ground 
that the status of the Japanese woman was such as to render 
such a step premature and hazardous. 

The first nurses' school, thus proposed, was later estab- 
lished in Kyoto in connection with the medical work of 
the American Board and the Doshisha, and Miss Linda 
Richards, the first nurse graduated in New England, 
resigned her position as superintendent of nurses in the Bos- 
ton City Hospital, to become the superintendent of the 
Kyoto school. The first five thousand dollars for this 
work was given by the Woman's Board of Missions of 
Boston, in which the Branches of Worcester County took 
an active part. This Kyoto school became a model for 
other schools, was visited by officials and others, and its 
rules and methods carefully studied. Today, nurses' 
schools exist in nearly every prefecture of the empire, in 
connection with private or prefectural hospitals. 

The long position of subordination occupied by the Jap^ 
anese woman, and the training of absolute obedience which 
she has had, especially fits her for the service of nursing; 
and though gentle and obedient, yet when brought face 
to face with any great emergency she manifests remarkable 
courage and fortitude. 

, In the early history of the Kyoto school a striking illus- 
tration of this was seen in a medical service arising from 
earthquake, when, within ten minutes, ten thousand people 
were killed and fifty thousand injured. To the center of 
this disturbance I hurried with a corps of native assistants 
and nurses, where we found a surgical service almost unpre- 
cedented in its arduous responsibility. On the third day of 
that service, when amputating a leg at the knee joint and 



MEDICINE IN JAPAN 157 

about to pick up the arteries for ligation, the distant roar 
of an approaching earthquake shock was again heard. The 
large number of patients in the waiting room were hurriedly- 
carried to the yard by their friends, but every nurse and med- 
ical assistant braced themselves for the shock, stood bravely 
by the patient, and steadily performed their respective 
duties. So too, in the great epidemics of cholera that have 
swept over the land, and again in the late Russo-Japanese 
war, these nurses have unflinchingly done their duty, with 
absolutely no fear of death. 

In 1886, Japan was admitted to the Geneva Convention of 
the Red Cross Society. Today, this society has thirty-one 
branch offices in Japan, with a membership of more than 
thirty-five hundred. 

At the suggestion of Count Ito there was later created 
the Volunteer Ladies Nursing Association which during 
the Japan-China war, became affiliated with the Red Cross 
Society. Devoted patriotism soon led ladies of rank to 
become members, — princesses, wives of nobility, of diplo- 
matic staffs, and others, and today this association has 
forty-one branches and nearly ten thousand members. 
Ladies of high social standing studied nursing, and their 
influence has done much to elevate this work throughout 
the country. Its activity was greatly accentuated during 
the late national struggle with Russia, their work being to 
"make bandages and dressings, care for patients, furnish 
a portion of the personnel of the rehef stations, visit hos- 
pitals, distribute magazines, and aid patients in their cor- 
respondence with friends." The members of this associa- 
tion fused so perfectly with those of the Red Cross Society, 
and this in turn with the personnel of the army medical 
department, that all worked together in perfect harmony. 

It is important to bear in mind the work of these auxiliary 
organizations, so contributory to medical efficiency, when 
considering the latter work. 

\ This hasty sketch of the long history of a great subject 
would be incomplete if it omitted to notice the triumph of 
Japan's Sanitary and Medical service in the Japan-Russian 
war. As introductory to this, and explaining the obedi- 



158 JOHN C. BERRY 

ence of the Japanese soldier to the orders of the medical 
board, the peculiar military discipline of the Japanese army 
must be noted. The relation of the officer to the soldier 
is that of parent and child: the officer representing the 
emperor who in turn is the head of the national family. 
When therefore, the soldier is made acquainted with the 
wishes of his officer, he is expected to make every effort to 
carry them into effect. 

The hard lessons learned in the earlier Japan-China war, 
when the rate of mortality from preventable disease was 
painfully high, emphasized the necessity of organized, 
scientific sanitation. The whole subject was therefore 
thoroughly investigated and developed, the best points 
of military sanitation in the German and French systems 
appropriated, supplemented by such modifications and 
additions as would meet Japan's peculiar conditions and 
needs. In the system as finally developed and in the men 
who were to carry it into effect, the nation had complete 
confidence. The soldier when leaving home, was made 
to fully understand this, and that, should he become disr- 
abled from any preventable disease, he would be looked 
upon by physicians, and by the pubUc, as a credit neither 
to himself, his family, nor his country. He went to the war 
to obey orders. He was given his package of aseptic dress- 
ing, told to guard it carefully, and instructed how to use 
it when wounded; he was told to take a bath and put on 
clean under-clothing before going into battle; to keep a 
supply of boiled water or tea in his canteen; to drink no 
water when on the march, except from wells or springs 
previouslj^ labelled as safe by the sanitary officer. And 
because of his faith and imphcit trust in his officers he relig- 
iously carried out these instructions. The confidence of 
the soldier in the commands of the medical officer was 
enhanced when he saw that the latter was honored by his 
emperor who bestowed upon him rank and reward for ser- 
vice, and exacted the most perfect harmony of action 
between the medical and the commanding officers. 

\ Another important fact contributory to medical efficiency 
was the remarkable liberality of the government in its 



MEDICINE IN JAPAN 159 

allowance for medical supplies, number of medical officers, 
etc. The grand result was, — an army death-rate lower than 
that of any nation in any previous war in history, — a death- 
rate estimated by competent observers on the ground to 
be less than one-half that of the opposing army. Even 
with the ratio increased by the large number of deaths 
arising form beriberi which occurred late in the struggle, 
the ratio of death from wounds to death from disease was 
one to one and five-tenths and before that epidemic, 1 to 
0.46. In the China-Japan war it was 1 to 12.09. 

It should be remembered that this was due not to supe- 
rior surgical skill, but (1) to the efficiency of the sanitary 
service and (2) to the intelligent obedience of the soldiers 
to sanitary requirements. Indeed the surgeons of the Jap- 
anese army, though in the main superior to those of the 
Russian army, were not distinguished for superior surgical 
skill. But they were humane in their treatment of their 
men, and to their honor be it said that there was no instance 
where a surgeon performed an unnecessary operation for 
the sake of perfecting his surgical technique; and this too, 
though there were 4517 medical officers in that service. 

In closing, I would add but a word as to the present 
status of Japanese medicine. In the use of the micro- 
scope as a diagnostic aid, in pathology, in bacteriology 
and in ophthalmology, her specialists have attained to 
great eminence. In the medical treatment of disease and 
in general surgery, however, extreme conservatism and 
routine are conspicuous. This has resulted from the fact 
that for about a quarter of a century, the graduates from 
the medical department of the Imperial University at 
Tokyo, who in turn, have become the medical teachers 
and leading physicians of the nation, were, in internal 
medicine and in surgery, under the tutorage of but two 
men. These were eminent in their profession and their 
pupils were devotedly studious, but the training was from 
a limited view point and the routine and conservative 
methods of the present generation can be overcome only 
by a broader touch with the advanced medical and sur- 
gical knowledge of the world. 



160 john c. berry 

Conclusions 

1. Centuries before the Christian era, Japan developed 
a system of medicine which in its close touch with nature, 
reflected the taste and instinct of a nature loving people. 
In the centuries which followed, this pure Japanese system 
was defended against the encroachments of the Chinese 
system and finally, by modifying it, did much to develop 
the latter to a point far beyond that which it ever attained 
in the country of its birth. 

2. Chinese medicine, modified both by the Japanese 
system and by Buddhistic philosophy, maintained a grow- 
ing influence for nearly two thousand years, until finally 
supplanted by the European school of rational medicine. 

3. The auxiliaries to successful medical effort, viz., sanitary 
science and trained nurses, stand today on a high plain 
of development, 

4. In microscopy, pathology, bacteriology and ophthal- 
mology, Japanese specialists have attained to a high degree 
of eminence. In order that the practice of general medicine 
and of general surgery may be brought to equal eminence, 
a broad touch with the medical and surgical work of the 
world is necessary. 

References 

Notes on History of Japanese Medicine, Asiatic Society Transaction; 
— Whitney. 

Reports of Military Observers attached to the Armies in Manchuria dur- 
ing the Russo-Japanese War — Major Charles Lynch. 

Report on the Japanese Naval Medical and Sanitary Features of the Russo- 
Japanese War to the Surgeon-General, U. S. Navy — Surgeon William C. 
Braisted. 

Fifty Years of New Japan — Count Okuma. 

The Development of Medicine in Japan — Professor Aoyama. 

Medicine and Hygiene in Japan, and their Indebtedness to England and 
America — Professor Miyake. 

The Red Cross in Japan — Surgeon-General Ishiguro. 

Personal Letter — George Braithwaite. 

The Mikados Empire — W. E. Griffis, D.D. 

Japan, Its History, Arts, and Literature — Captain E. Brinkley. 



THE NEW JAPAN 

By Arthur Judson Brown, D.D., Secretary Presbyterian 
Board of Foreign Missions 

Japan is in some respects one of the most attractive coun- 
tries in the world. One who has visited it can never forget 
the charm of its hospitaUty, the neatness of the homes and 
villages, and the courageous energy with which the people 
are grappling with their new and difficult problems. Evi- 
dences of the new life which is stirring the nation are appar- 
ent on every hand. Tokyo, the intellectual and political 
center of the nation, has become one of the influential cities 
of the world. Osaka is the center of the new industrial 
Japan and there the commercial and manufacturing enter- 
prises of the country may be seen on a large scale. The oc- 
casional traveler too often neglects this city, which is one 
of the most distinctive cities of modern Japan. Kyoto con- 
tinues to be the artistic and Buddhistic heart of Japan. One 
does not expect to see much change in the sacred Shinto city 
of Yamada, or the shrines and temples of scenic and historic 
Nikko; but even there the traveler finds indications of pro- 
gress. The new highway, three miles in length, connecting 
the two Shinto shrines at Yamada, is not surpassed by any 
road in Europe. Everywhere the traveler is charmed by the 
beauty of the scenery. Japan is a land of mountains and 
valleys, of streams and gardens. A journey through it is a 
succession of delights to the lover of nature, and even the 
humid heat of a Japanese August can be uncomplainingly 
borne when one can look upon scenes worth going far to see. 
' The contrast between Japan of today and the Japan which 
I found ten years ago is not so immediately apparent as one 
might imagine. Visibly there is comparatively little change. 
The charm of the Japanese scenery is still unmarred, save in 
a few places, by the crass materialism which in America lines 
our railways with huge signs advertising cathartics, bile beans, 

161 



162 ARTHUR JUDSON BROWN 

soothing syrup, and pale pills for pink people. Japanese 
architecture is the same, save here and there a new public 
building is of foreign style. Increasing numbers of educated 
men wear European dress; but the native garments still pre- 
dominate on the streets. The railway service is excellent; 
but the jinrickisha still awaits the traveler at every station, 
and the bare legged runner swiftly draws him over the smooth 
streets between the long rows of shops with their picturesque 
signs. The visitor can easily find external signs of changing 
conditions if he looks for them; and in some instances they 
obtrude themselves. Nevertheless, Japan, to the eye, is 
still Japan — the most beautiful land of northern Asia. 

But as one moves among the people, he becomes conscious 
of subtler changes. Ten years ago, I founda militant Japan. 
The people had not recovered from their rage and chagrin 
over Russia's seizure of Port Arthur and Manchuria, thus 
depriving them of the hard-won fruits of the China-Japan 
war of 1894. The nation was thinking of revenge. It real- 
ized too that Russian aggressions must result in war. It was 
therefore drilling soldiers, building warships and accumu- 
lating military stores. 

The Japan of today is not less militant than the Japan of 
former years. It understands perfectly that the Russians 
will not permanently acquiesce in the stinging defeat which 
was inflicted upon them. The Japanese know that the 
Koreans hate them and that the Chinese are jealous of 
them. They know too, that many foreigners throughout 
the Far East are suspicious of them. They discern, 
moreover, that the position which they have now won in 
the world in general and in the Far East in particular is one 
which can be held only by military force. The Japanese, 
therefore, are maintaining an army and navy at a high 
stage of efficiency. They do not need as large a standing 
army as some other nations, for in Japan practically every 
able-bodied man receives military training, and after his 
return to civil life, is amenable to his country's call at any 
time. One hears many stories to the effect that enormous 
stores of munitions of war are being accumulated. It is diffi- 
cult to tell how far this is true; but no one doubts that 



THE NEW JAPAN 163 

the Japanese are keeping themselves in first-class military 
condition just as the British, the Germans and the French 
are keeping themselves, and as a strong party wishes to keep 
the United States. All this is natural as conditions now are. 

But Japan, while not less military, is more commercial than 
formerly. It understands war is a costly business. It spent 
$585,000,000 in the Russian- Japan war, and the nation is 
staggering under the enormous debt of $1,125,153,411, or 
$21.50 per capita. People have to pay from 20 to 30 per cent 
of their incomes for taxes and a Tokyo paper (the Kokumin 
Shimfun) says that '' the heavy debts of Japan are more than 
the nation can endure." Japan realizes that its material 
resources are greatly inferior to those of most other first-class 
powers, and that the position and ambitions of the nation 
require wealth as well as an army and navy. 

The Japanese cannot get this wealth by agriculture; for 
not only is Japan a comparatively small country territorially 
but only about 12 per cent of its area is easily susceptible of 
cultivation. It is a land of hills and mountains. The val- 
leys are unusually rich, but they are not extensive and there 
are no vast stretches of rich prairie soil like those in Manchu- 
ria and the western part of the United States. 

So the Japanese have entered upon a period of commercial 
and industrial development. They have studied to good 
effect the example of England and are trying to make them- 
selves a manufacturing people. Trade is being fostered on a 
large scale. Factories, the best modern machinery, exten- 
sive shipping interests, and great business enterprises testify 
to the zeal with which the Japanese are entering the sphere 
of commercial activity. When one considers the contempt 
with which trade was regarded by feudal Japan only a few 
decades ago, he is amazed by the skill and persistence with 
which the new Japan is striving for the mastery in the mar- 
kets of the world. It is not easy for the white races to com- 
pete with them. The Japanese already lead in the trade of 
the Pacific ocean, and dominate that of Korea and Manchuria. 
They are competing with foreign and Chinese steamship lines 
on the Yang-tze River to Hankow, planting colonies in every 



164 ARTHUR JUDSON BROWN 

port city of the Far East, and running their steamships to 
Europe, America, India and Austraha. 

The advantages of Japan in this commercial rivalry are short 
haul, cheap labor, control of transportation lines both by land 
and sea, and government subsidies. Several of the great 
enterprises of modern Japan are controlled either directly or 
indirectly by the Goverimient. In some instances, the gov- 
ernment owns them outright; in other instances high officials 
and members of the Imperial Family are heavy stockliolders. 
The Financial Economic Annual, issued b}'' the Government, 
states that in 1905, out of a total of 4,783 miles, the state 
owned and operated 1,531 miles of railway. By the railway 
nationalization law and the railway purchase law, passed in 
March 1906, the Government acquired ownership and control 
of all the lines in the country, with the exception of a few of 
relatively Uttle unportance. Its holdings now represent about 
90 per cent of the total milage. Payment for the lines pur- 
chased is to be made by public loan bonds aggregating nearly 
$250,000,000. The Japanese people are moving as a unit in 
the futherance of their commercial ambitions. The business 
man does not have to fight alone for foreign trade, as the 
American tradesman must. He has the backing of the nation. 
Allied industries support him. Shipping companies give him 
every possible advantage. He is, to use an American term, 
a part of an immense "trust," only the trust is virtually a 
government instead of a corporation. 

I heard much criticism of Japanese commercial methods. 
European and American business men spoke with great bit- 
terness of their unfairness. They alleged that Japanese 
firms obtain railway rebates; that transportation lines are so 
managed that Japanese firms have their freight promptly 
forwarded while foreign firms are subject to ruinous delays; 
that foreign labels and trade marks are placed upon inferior 
goods, so that it is difficult to sell a genuine brand to an 
Asiatic, as the latter beheves that he can get the same brand 
from a Japanese at a lower price. They also alleged that 
foreign traders in Manchuria are compelled to pay full duties 
upon all goods, but that the Japanese, through their absolute 



THE NEW JAPAN 165 

control of the only railway, are able to evade the customs. 
It was said that of $12,000,000 worth of Japanese goods which 
went into Dairen in a single year, only $3,000,000 worth paid 
duty. For a long time, Japanese goods were poured into 
Manchuria at An-tung on the Yalu River. Then foreign pow- 
ers encouraged the Chinese to place an inspector of the Imper- 
ial Chinese Customs at An-tung. The Japanese could not op- 
pose this, but they did their best to have a Japanese inspect- 
or chosen. An American in the customs service, however, 
was appointed. His experience in endeavoring to enforce 
the laws against the Japanese would make interesting read- 
ing, if it is ever published. 

' The rage and chagrin of European and American business 
men in the Far East can better be imagined than described. 
A disgusted foreigner declared to me that there is not a white 
man in the Far East, except those in the employ of the Japan- 
ese, who are friendly toward them, and that their dominant 
characterictics are "conceit and deceit. " He denied not only 
the honesty but even the courage of the Japanese, insisting 
that the capture of Port Arthur was not due to the bravery 
of the assailants, but to the incompetence of the defenders. 
He said that the Russian soldiers were as heroic as any in the 
world; but that their officers were drunkards and debauchees, 
and that the war department, which should have sustained 
them, was rotten with corruption. He stated that at the 
battle of Liao Yang, both Russian and Japanese generals gave 
the order for retreat at about the same time, each feeling that 
the battle was lost; but that the Russian regiments received 
their order first, and that as the Japanese saw them retreat, 
they moved forward. He held that the anti- Japanese agita- 
tion in the public schools of San Francisco was secretly fo- 
mented and made an international incident by the Japanese 
themselves, in order to divert attention from what they were 
doing in Manchuria; and more to the same effect. 

I have cited these opinions as they are illustrative of many 
that I heard in the Far East. I need hardly say that I re- 
gard them as unjust. Their very bitterness indicates the 
prejudice which gave some of them birth and added exagger- 
ation to others. Even if they were all true, the Japanese 



166 ARTHUR JUDSON BROWN 

are simply doing what it is notorious that some American 
corporations have been doing for years. Rebates, adultera- 
tion, evasion of customs, short weight, unfair crushing of 
competitors, and kindred methods, are not so unfamiliar to 
Americans that they need lift hands of holy horror when they 
hear about them in Asia. 

The fact is that the white trader has had, until recently, his 
own way in the Far East. He has cajoled and bullied and 
threatened and bribed the Asiatic to his heart's content and 
his pocket's enrichment. He has dominated the markets, 
charged what prices he pleased, and reaped enormous profits. 
When he has gotten into trouble with local authorities, he has 
called upon his government to help him out of the scrape. 
The story of the dealing of western nations in Asia includes 
some of the most disgraceful incidents in history. Now, for 
the first time, the white man finds himself face to face with an 
Asiatic who can beat him at his own game. The Japanese 
are commercially ambitious and want those rich markets for 
themselves. They are going after them and getting them. 
It is rather late in the day for white men to go into paroxysms 
of grief and indignation over commercial methods they them- 
selves have long practiced. I do not mean to be understood 
as excusing such methods in the Japanese or anyone else. I 
am simply calhng attention to the fact that the Japanese are 
a strong, alert, aggressive and ambitious people, who have 
precisely those ambitions for supremacy which characterize 
white men. 

The Japanese are developing almost as much of a coloniz- 
ing spirit as the Chinese. Like the latter, they are seeking 
distant lands, and like them, too, they are succeeding in them. 
The pressure in population of Japan has already been noted. 
The Empire had 37,017,362 inhabitants in 1883; 39,607,254 
in 1888; 41,388,313 in 1893; 43,763,855 in 1898; 46,732,807 
in 1903; 48,649,583 in 1906; and it now has over 50,000,000 
exclusive of Formosa and Korea. The cost of living is rising. 
The Hmit of the soil productiveness has been reached and 
Japan has to import food for her people. In a recent year 
she purchased abroad 4,296,418 piculs of rice, chiefly from 
China, Siam and Burma, and 4,294,267 piculs of beans, the 



THE NEW JAPAN 167 

latter largely from Manchuria. She bought flour in the 
United States to make bread for her troops during the war, 
and her imports of this staple in the following year cost $1, 
819,166, It will readily be understood that possession of For- 
mosa, Korea and Lower Manchuria and a strong navy mean 
the very life of the nation. 

Japan's new and rapidly enlarging foreign trade also in- 
volves the residence in other lands of some of her subjects. 
There is a large Japanese population in Korea, Manchuria, 
Formosa and the Hawaiian Islands, and an increasing one in 
the ports of China. The Japanese population in the United 
States was 71,712 in 1909 and is probably about the same 
now. 

A discussion of the problem of Japanese emigration to the 
United States does not fall within the scope of this article. 
The agitation in Cahfornia and the national complications 
that ensued are well known. Lest we be mislead by news — 
paper reports about the danger of having" great numbers 
of Japanese men sitting beside little American girls" in the 
schools of San Francisco, we may recall the result of inquir- 
ies by Mr. George Kennan, as published in the Outlook of 
June, 1907. He found that of 28,736 pupils in the public 
schools of San Francisco, only 93 were Japanese; that 28 of 
these were girls ; that 34 of the boys were under fifteen years 
of age; that of the 31 over fifteen years of age, only two were 
as old as twenty, and that the average age of the rest was sev- 
enteen. All but six were in grades with Americans of the 
same age. The number of "Japanese men sitting beside 
Uttle American girls" therefore consisted of just six youths 
under twenty, and these were divided among four schools 
— one in each of three schools and three in the other. 

The story of moral and spiritual development in Japan is 
replete with interest. It is difficult to realize that when Dr. 
James Hepburn arrived in Japan in 1859, he was not per- 
mitted to preach; and that the only opportunity he could 
find to do anything, except literary work in his own study, 
was to teach English to a few boys whose fathers were desir- 
ous of having them learn the leading language of Western 
nations. Now the Rev. Allen Klein Faust, Ph.D., in his 



168 AETHUR JUDSON BROWN 

Christianity as a Social Factor in Modern Japan, says that 
there are 1,031 foreign missionaries in Japan, 1,847 Japanese 
ministers, evangelists, missionaries and teachers; 161,228 
communicant members of churches, and half a million ad- 
herents. That is, 1 in every 100 of the population is an 
adherent of Christianity, and 1 in every 320 is a baptized 
communicant. These figures include the Greek and Roman 
Catholic and Protestant Missions. Protestants have 186 
schools with 17,664 students; Roman Catholics 51 schools 
with 6,183 students; and Greek Catholics 3 schools with 328 
students. 

The influence of Christianity is far greater than these figures 
would indicate. In most countries, Christianity made its first 
converts among the lower strata of society, but in Japan it 
has won its greatest successes among the Samurai or knightly 
class, the class which has furnished the majority of the army 
and navy officers, journalists, legislators, educators, and lead- 
ing men generally of the new Japan. It can readily be under- 
stood, therefore, that the Japanese churches have a strength 
out of all proportion to theu* numbers. Fourteen members of 
the Lower House are Christians. A former President of the 
House was a Presbyterian elder. Christians may be found 
among the influential men in almost every walk of life. At 
the semi-centennial Conference in 1909, the Rev. Dr. Imbrie 
said: 

Fifty years ago, notice-boards were standing on the high-ways 
declaring Christianity a forbidden religion; today these same notice 
boards are seen standing in the museum in Tokyo as things of his- 
torical interest. Fifty years ago, religious liberty was a phrase not 
yet minted in Japan ; today it is written in the constitution of the 
nation. Less than fifty years ago, the Christian Scriptures could 
be printed only in secret ; today Bible societies scatter them far and 
wide without let or hindrance. Fifty years ago, there was not a 
Protestant Christian in Japan; today they are to be found among 
the members of the imperial diet, the judges in the courts, the pro- 
fessors in the imperial university, the editors of influential newspa- 
pers, the officers of the army and navy . 

Count Okuma, former prime minister of Japan, in a re- 
markable address at the same conference, is reported in the 
Japan Daily Mail, October 9, 1909, as follows : 



THE NEW JAPAN 169 

\ He was glad of this opportunity to express a word of hearty con- 
gratulation to those who were assembled to celebrate this semi- 
centennial of Christian work in Japan. Though not himself a pro- 
fessed Christian, he confessed to have received great influence from 
the creed, as have many others throughout Japan. This is a most 
important anniversary for the country. It represents the work of 
one whole age in our history, during which most marvelous changes 
have taken place. He came in contact with, and received great 
impulses from, some of the missionaries of that early period, partic- 
ularly from Dr. Verbeck, who was his teacher in English and history 
and the Bible, and whose great and virtuous influence he can never 
forget. Though he could do little direct evangelistic work then, all 
his work was Christian, and in every thing he did, his Christian- 
like spirit was revealed. The coming of missionaries to Japan was 
the means of linking this country to the Anglo-Saxon spirit to which 
the heart of Japan has already responded. The success of Christian 
work in Japan can be measured by the extent to which it has been 
able to infuse the Anglo-Saxon and the Christian spirit into the na- 
tion. It has been the means of putting into these fifty years an ad- 
vance equivalent to that of one hundred years. Japan has a history 
of 2,500 years, and 1,500 years ago had advanced in civilization and 
domestic arts, but never took wide views nor entered upon wide 
work. Only by the coming of the West in its missionary represent- 
atives and by the spread of the Gospel, did the nation enter upon 
world-wide thoughts and world-wide work. This is the great re- 
sult of the Christian spirit. To be sure, Japan had her religions 
and Buddhism prospered greatly; but this prosperity was largely 
through political means. Now this creed has been practically re- 
jected by the better classes, who spiritually thirsty, have nothing 
to drink. While extending congratulations upon the advance made 
thus far, he prayed for still greater effort and advance in the future 
and such advance as should be manifest in lives of lofty virtue of 
the Verbeck kind. To teach the Bible was all right, but to act it 
was better. Japan is well advanced in scientific knowledge, but 
head and heart are not yet on a level. Profession and conduct 
ought to go together. Only thus can evangelistic work be counted 
a success. 

The secular press does not fail to note the trend, for we 
find in the Japanese Advertiser for December 25, 1910, the 
following editorial: 

There can be no gainsaying that the Christmas season, quite 
apart from its religious significance, is making great headway in this 
country. A walk through the streets of Tokyo today gives abun- 
dant evidence of the influence of the season, for all the shops are stock- 
ed with goods that are associated with the foreign Christmas quite 
as much as with the Japanese new year. In the tram cars, one sees 
advertisements of Christmas novelties, crackers and the like, in- 
tended for the Japanese eye. Dotted throughout the city are the 



170 ARTHUR JUDSON BROWN 

Christian churches, each one of which is now engaged in celebrat- 
ing the holy season with religious services, as well as sacred concerts 
and other entertainments suitable to the occasion. It must be 
conceded that Christianity is making great progress in a country 
where its principal festivals are coming to be accepted by the mass 
of the people, even if that acceptation is only concerned with the 
purely secular manifestations of the faith. It is a great stride for- 
ward compared to what it was only a few years ago when the atti- 
tude of the people was still antagonistic toward the religion which, 
together with all its associations, they regarded with contempt. 
Doubtless those whose memory carries them back a generation 
could describe vividl}^ the changes that have come over the people 
in this connection. 

I would not make too much of these facts. Japan is still 
far from being a Christian nation. The obstacles yet to be 
surmounted are numerous and formidable. But it is indis- 
putable that Christian ideas are permeating the literature 
and the thinking of Japan to a far greater extent than is com- 
monly realized. 

I confess to a deep and sympathetic interest in the future 
of the Japanese. Irritating as some of their methods are, 
trying as it is for the proud and arrrogant Anglo-Saxon to 
feel that at last he has met a competitor whom he cannot 
easily overcome, I confess that these things increase rather 
than diminish my respect. Here is a people whom it is 
worth while to reach. Are we to concentrate our activities 
on inferior peoples? Has America no message for the strong 
and masterful races of the non-Christian world? I like the 
Japanese the more because they are united, ambitious and 
aggressive. I do not defend their vices any more than I 
defend the vices of my countrymen; but I want to see the 
Japanese united with the best people of Europe and America 
in the service of Christ. Forces and temptations which pre- 
vail in America, but which numerous and powerful Christian 
churches help us to fight, are surging into Japan where the 
opposing forces of righteousness are still comparatively new 
and small. It is Christ alone that keeps the United States 
from utter moral lawlessness and disintegration. We ought to 
be profoundly concerned that the Japanese should have the 
same Christ to help them. I want to see Christian missions 
in Japan strengthened, not because I regard the Japanese as 



THE NEW JAPAN 171 

inferiors, not because I feel that we deserve any credit for 
the knowledge of Christ which was brought to us from the 
outside, but because I regard the Japanese as fellowmen and 
because I know that they need the same Christ that I need. 
The Japanese already have a political vision. They dream 
of the leadership of Asia, and they are preparing for it with a 
skill and energy which elicit the wonder of the world. They 
already have a commercial vision, and they are strenuously 
trying to realize it. They already have an intellectual vision 
and they have built up one of the best educational systems 
in the world. Baron Kikuchi says that 96 per cent of the 
children of school age in Japan are in schools, the highest per 
centage of any nation in the world. What Japan needs is a 
spiritual vision which will purify and glorify these other 
visions. This spiritual vision is vital to the future of Japan. 
Few foreigners have been so deeply in sympathy with the 
Japanese as the late Lafcadio Hearn; but in his chapter on 
''The Genius of Japanese Civilization" he wrote: 

The psychologist knows that the so-called adoption of western 
civilization within a time of thirty years cannot mean the addition 
to the Japanese brain of any organs of power previously absent 
from it. He knows that it cannot mean any sudden change in the 
mental or moral character of the race. Such changes are not made 
in a generation. Transmitted civilization works much more slowly, 
requiring even hundreds of years to produce certain permanent psy- 
chological results. ... It is quite evident that the mental 
readjustments, effected at a cost which remains to be told, have giv- 
en good results only along directions in which the race has always 
shown capacities of special kinds .... Nothing remark- 
able has been done, however, in directions foreign to the national 

genius To imagine that the emotional character of an 

Oriental race could be transformed in the short space of thirty years 
by the contact of Occidental ideas is absurd All that Jap- 
an has been able to do so miraculously well has been done without 
any self-transformation, and those who imagine her emotionally 
closer to us today than she may have been thirty years ago, ignore 
the facts of science which admit of no argument.^ 

The Japanese mind has long been adapted to war, to 
politics, and to certain kinds of industrial and scientific devel- 
opment. Knowledge of western methods and discoveries 
has simply enabled the Japanese to do more effectively and on 

^Kokoro, pp. 16-18. 



172 ARTHUR JUDSON BROWN 

a larger scale what they had been doing after a fashion before. 
The spiritual realm, however, is a new world to them. Shin- 
toism and Buddhism have not known, and therefore could 
not make known, a personal God. In his instructive book, 
The Future of Japan, W. Petrie Watson declares that religion, 
conceived as God and as a final and sufficient explanation of all 
phenomena, is not a Japanese notion; and that of a rehgion as 
it is conceived in Europe, there is little or none in Japan. 
The Japanese regard rehgion as subordinate in life, and the 
temper of their mind is such that it is usually difficult for 
them to acquire a just view of its authority and indispensa- 
bleness in individual and national existence. His conclusion 
is that Japan is addressing herself to the great responsibili- 
ties of the modern world without any religion at all, in the 
proper sense of the term; and that the effort is pathetic and 
disappointing rather than heroic and inspiring, since there is no 
fresh beginning of history which has not been born from a new 
rehgion or from the new interpretation of an existing religion. 
He admires the administrative efficiency with which Japan is 
doing her work at present, and the splendid enthusiasm which 
it is bringing to its present tasks; but even savages are often 
recklessly brave and eagerly wilhng to die for their leader. 
There is therefore reason for profound anxiety as we study 
the relations which Japan has formed with the modern world 
and the power that she is exerting. Only as the Japanese 
grasp Christ's high ideals of life and build upon the sohd 
foundation of Christ's teachings will they be able to main- 
tain themselves as a great power. The Japanese must be 
brought within view of the necessity of a religious interpre- 
tation of life, ampler, clearer and more categorical than that 
which they have found or can find either in a rehgion of loy- 
alty, or in Bushi-do, or in esoteric Buddhism, or in supersti- 
tious Shintoism. Japan can not hope to reap the results of 
the rehgion of Europe without an ultimate reckoning with 
their case.^ 

Thoughtful Japanese are beginning to see this. Various 
utterances of her leading men might be cited. Baron Mak- 

^ The Future of Japan, cf . especially chapters xiv, xxviii and xxx. 



THE NEW JAPAN 173 

ino, minister of education, said to the secretary of the Young 
Men's Christian Association: "We are greatly distressed 
about the moral condition of the students and the low char- 
acter of the ordinary lodging houses where young men live 
and shall welcome whatever help the Young Men's Christian 
Association can do to help solve the problem. " Prince Ito, in 
a notable address, laid down the following propositions: 
That no nation could prosper without material improvement; 
that material prosperity cannot last long without amoral back- 
bone; that the strongest backbone is that which has a relig- 
ious sanction behind it.^ Equally significant was the remark 
of Baron Shibusawa, the distinguished chairman of the com- 
mission of representative business men of Japan which vis- 
ited the United States some time ago. In an address at a 
dinner in New York he declared: 

Japan in the future must base her morality on religion. It must 
be a religion that does not rest on an empty superstitious faith, like 
that of some of the Buddhist sects in our land ; but must be like the 
one that prevails in your own country, which manifests its power 
over men by filling them with good works. 

\ The very solidarity of the Japanese would make their influ- 
ence for Christ more powerful than that of almost any other 
people in Asia. The spirit of self-sacrifice which is so promi- 
nent in the Japanese character, the absolute willingness to 
dare and to die for the nation which hurled the Japanese 
corps as one man upon the fortifications of Port Arthur and 
enabled them to capture what probably no other army in the 
world could have captured, would, if pervaded and inspired 
by the Vision of Christ, make the Japanese among the most 
nobly effective peoples that the world has known. To give 
them the Christ who can do this is worthy of every possible 
effort on our part. 



' The Japan Mail, September 4, 1909. 



THE MODERN JAPANESE CHRISTIAN CHURCH 

ITS RELATIONS TO MISSIONS IN JAPAN; TO THE 
EVANGELIZATION OF THE ORIENT; TO THE ULTI- 
MATE INTERPRETATION OF CHRISTIANITY 

By Rev. George M. Rowland, D.D., for twenty-five years a 
Missionary of the American Board in Japan 

The subject assigned me confines the discussion within 
rather narrow Hmits. The term "modern," as apphed 
to foreign missions, commonly signifies roughly the nine- 
teenth century. For Japan then it includes only the period 
subsequent to Perry's treaty, 1854. ''Japanese Chris- 
tian Church" I interpret to mean, for the purposes of this 
paper, not the church in Japan but the Christian church 
in so far as it has come under Japanese administration — 
become, so to speak, indigenous, "Japanese." Thus it 
will be seen that the work of the Jesuits in the sixteenth 
century and the work of several modern foreign missions 
which is still under the administration of the European 
missionary, effective and noble as all that work has been 
and is, does not here come under review. This paper 
deals rather only with those communions that have lately 
become nationalized. 

Beginnings 

It goes without saying that the Christian church in 
Japan was the fruit of the labors of the foreign missionary 
as the first human agency. When the first modern mis- 
sionaries went to Japan there was no church and barring 
some believers who remained from the work of Xavier, 
who for generations handed down their faith from father 
to son, and who held that faith only in secret, there were 
no Chi'istians. Not only so, there was not even an ear 
to hear. The faith and teaching which the missionaries 

174 



THE MODERN JAPANESE CHRISTIAN CHURCH 175 

took was a bitterly hated and strictly prohibited thing. 
At first then the missionaries sowed the seed, and reaped 
the first-fruits, preached, taught, baptized and gathered 
into churches. It could not be otherwise. 

Early Growth 

♦ 

The first church was organized at Yokohama, March 
10, 1872. It consisted of nine members, was not denomi- 
national, and was felicitously named ''The Church of 
Christ in Japan." 

From this early time the Japanese Christians were zeal- 
ous for the conversion of their countrymen. During the 
next decade to be sure the missionaries took the leading 
part in Christian work and exercised, directly or indirectly, 
very large influence in the affairs of the young churches 
themselves. But the members of the little native Christian 
community nearly all took upon themselves responsi- 
bility for bringing others to the knowledge of the truth. 
At the beginning of the decade the idea seemed to obtain 
that to become a Christian was to become an evangelist; 
and by the latter part of the decade native ministers had 
been trained in theology and some were ordained. Little 
missionary societies were organized, some of which have 
lived and grown till today; and at least one Christian 
weekly began to be published. 

The next two decades (1883-1903) saw many vicissitudes, 
seed sowing and rapid ingathering — some years the church 
membership was increased by more than a half or almost 
doubled — now a season of reaction when Christianity 
lost favor among the people, and again a period of readjust- 
ment when numerical growth was much retarded and theo- 
logical beliefs were greatly and rapidly modified, when faith 
was shaken and some strong workers swerved from their 
pristine faith and left the ministry; some left the church 
altogether. Later, just before the next period when began 
the absorbing quest for a healthy independence, the church 
settled down to a more normal growth. But amidst all 
the vicissitudes of these two decades there was advance 



176 GEORGE M. ROWLAND 

in numbers, advance in intelligence of the faith, advance 
in the institutions of organized Christianity, advance in 
the responsibility borne by the Japanese ministers, advance 
in the whole life of the church toward a native, Japanese 
form of Christianity. 

Reaching Maturity 

From the comparatively early days of the organized 
churches there were in each of the larger communions 
strong men, Japanese, who were capable of leading in the 
organization of the churches themselves and in that of the 
other institutions of the Christian community. They 
were effective preachers, some of them preeminent. Others 
wielded a powerful pen. There were within the churches 
educators of influence and laymen of national, even of 
international fame for the institutions which they founded 
in the spirit of the Master for the salvation of the orphan, 
the wayward, the ex-convict, and for other unfortunates. 
There had grown up a body of men in the churches who 
were in fact what some of them have since come to be 
called in word ''The Leader." Back of them too the rank 
and file of the church membership were full of an increas- 
ingly strong desire for independence. 

At the same time the most influential missionaries to 
Japan, both those who bore commission from American 
and European missionary boards and the few like Janes 
at Kumamoto and Clark at Sapporo who were providen- 
tially led to Japan just at the psychological moment, and 
who served her people for very limited periods, were men 
who appreciated that Christianity is a life and not form 
and dogma. They were content to see Western forms of 
church life and Western statements of Christian truth dis- 
regarded, if only the life itself and the truth itself should 
take root in the hearts of the people. Mark Hopkins 
when president of the American Board said, ''It is our 
business to make Christians and not Congregationalists. " 
This was from the first the attitude of the American Board's 
mission. It was largely the attitude also of the missions 



THE MODERN JAPANESE CHRISTIAN CHURCH 177 

of other communions. The Right Reverend Bishop An- 
drews, Enghsh Bishop of the Episcopal Church in Hok- 
kaido, regards self-support as a most vital question in the 
Japanese church today, not to save a few pounds of gold 
to the English church, but to bring to the Japanese church 
a new life in all its abundance. In the interest of self- 
support and independence a portion of the missionary work 
within his diocese and in that of Kyushu too has been made 
diocesan. 

The fundamental purpose then of most of the missions 
to inculcate the Christian life in such wise that it should 
manifest itself in forms and expressions native to the 
country; the increasing number and power of individual 
Japanese "leaders" fitted by inheritance and training, 
by real ability, and by personal experience of the Christian 
life for wise and effective leadership; and the increasing 
readiness on the part of the laity to assume the responsi- 
bilities, financial and other, of a self-supporting, self-pro- 
pagating Japanese church — all these things conspired to 
encourage the hope of an early realization of a thoroughly 
nationalized Christianity. 

At this juncture came the Russian War of 1904-5 with 
its uninterrupted series of signal victories for the Japanese 
arms. The terms of the Portsmouth treaty of peace were 
unsatisfactory to a portion of the Japanese public. But 
the eighteen months of fighting and of successes culminat- 
ing in the wonderful battles of Moukden by land and of 
Tsushima in the Japan Sea served as a powerful stimulus 
to the already rising national self-consciousness. The 
nation came to a vivid sense of its power and importance 
and to a no less vivid sense of its responsibility in the 
Eastern world and in the whole world. 

And just as the nation was stimulated by these events 
so also was the Christian community. The churches came 
to feel more keenly than ever the need, the compelling 
importance, of complete independence of any thing that 
looked hke foreign control. Should the spirit of the church 
of Christ lag behind the spirit of the nation? The Chris- 
tians must needs have this independence alike for their 



178 GEORGE M. ROWLAND 

own self-respect and for their standing in the eyes of the 
non-Christian pubhc. To continue to have his affairs 
controlled by the foreign emissary marked the Japanese 
Christian in his own eyes and in the eyes of his non-Chris- 
tian neighbor as falling in point of citizenship and national- 
ism below his fellow-countrymen. To continue receiv- 
ing financial aid from foreign mission boards moreover 
seemed to imply some sort of foreign control in the affairs 
of the churches aided. Two decades earUer the Christian 
leaders had been recognized as the leaders in society at 
large. Now they are losing this leadership and falling to 
a place of relatively inferior influence and power. Some- 
thing must be done. Obviously the first thing to be done 
was to secure full independence of foreign control and in 
order to this independence of control the churches must 
rise to independence of financial aid. Men of spiritual 
insight also saw that only by such independence and self- 
support could the churches rise to their opportunity and 
worthily present Christ to their fellow-countrymen, not 
to mention neighboring peoples. Thus it transpired that 
since about the time of the Russo-Japanese War all the 
churches experienced a great impulse toward independence 
and self-support and three great communions, the Con- 
gregational, Presbyterian and Methodists, have already 
attained to that goal. 

The history of this phase of church development is 
intensely interesting and profoundly important. As we 
proceed in the study of the times it will become apparent 
that almost everything really turns upon financial self- 
support and very little need be said about independence 
of mission control per se. The reason is not far to seek. 
In the great communions the churches from earliest times 
had developed a considerably self-governing organization. 
This is most strikingly illustrated perhaps in churches 
of the Congregational order of government where the local 
church alone is the seat of authority and that local church 
is organized to conduct its own affairs without vote or voice 
from the outside. But self-government is hardly less a 
fact in the Presbyterian order, for here also the local church 



THE MODERN JAPANESE CHRISTIAN CHURCH 179 

is first, and is self-governing through its session. Later 
a group of such local churches form themselves into a 
Presbytery which is self-governing, ordering certain phases 
of the life of the local churches of which it is composed 
but not looking to any higher authority outside itself until 
a group of Presbyteries organize themselves into Synod 
or Assembly to be over them an authority within limits. 
In the Methodist churches also which are Episcopal in order 
and have a foreign bishop oppointed by the home churches 
great pains seems to have been taken by the missions in 
Japan to give large place to the voice of the native brethren 
in matters of church government. 

Let us glance now somewhat in detail at the later steps 
of development of the three great communions in attain- 
ing to full self support and independence. 

In the Kumi-ai (Congregational) body as above inti- 
mated, owing to the policy of the American Board mission, 
to the earnestness and ability of the Japanese ministers, 
and to the intrinsic character of the Congregational polity, 
there had been from early times local churches self-gov- 
erning, local associations self-governing and a National 
Council, meeting annually, self-governing. Still there was 
a certain indefiniteness in the relations between these 
several self-governing bodies on the one hand and the Ameri- 
can Board mission on the other. There was perhaps a 
modicum of imfluence emanating from the mission by vir- 
tue of the financial aid granted to a few of the local churches 
and by virtue too of the cooperation by men and money 
of the mission with the national body and in some instances 
with a local association or even with a local church in reg- 
ular evangelism in new fields. There was need of clearly 
defining relations, of sealing the independence of the Kumi- 
ai body, and of forming plans by which that body could 
push evangelization in a way more adequate to the spirit 
of the times and more adequate to the great opportunity. 

Accordingly in 1905 two committees, one of the Kumi-ai 
churches and one of the American Board mission, were 
chosen to consult together about ways and means. The 
joint meetings of these two committees were marked by 



180 GEORGE M. ROWLAND 

frank expression of opinion and great cordiality of feeling. 
The Japanese committee were eager for some plan by which 
should be ushered in a new and more effective era in the 
development of their churches and also a forward move- 
ment in the evangelization of their country. It was finally 
proposed by the missionaries that the Japan Missionary 
Society, organ of the Kumi-ai churches, take over some 
thirty of the churches and congregations hitherto aided 
by the mission and become responsible for their support 
and development. The Kumi-ai committee, after due 
deliberation, heroically accepted this heavy responsibility. 
For this purpose a budget was made up of two items, 
first 8700 yen as a parting gift from the mission to the thirty 
churches, to be paid during three years, and second the 
promise of the Japanese body to raise 6000 yen during a like 
period. At the expiration of the three years "eighteen 
churches had actually assumed self-support, and six had 
been handed over by the Japan Missionary Society to 
the local associations within whose borders each was located. 
Three more attained self-support January 1, 1909, and the 
ramaining are under some kind of provisional care. "^ 
Since January 1, 1909, the Kumi-ai body has been fully 
self-governing, self-supporting and self-propagating; it might 
also be added self-respecting — a veritable pillar and ground 
of the truth. 

For the "Church of Christ in Japan," as the churches 
of Presbyterial government are called, unfortunately the 
way to a like independence lacked something of perfect 
harmony between the Church and the associated missions, 
To begin with there were four associated missions to be 
dealt with, Presbyterian North, Presbyterian South, Ger- 
man Reformed and Dutch Reformed; and these four mis- 
sions differed somewhat among themselves in their opinions 
as to relations with the native church. A shght difference 
of theological behef and a question concerning the use in 
the Meiji Gakuin Theological School of W. N. Clarke's 
An Outline of Christian Theology had arisen to disturb some- 

^Christian Movement in Japan, 1909, p. 224. 



THE MODERN JAPANESE CHRISTIAN CHURCH 181 

what a perfect cordiality of feeling. When negotiations 
for the adjustment of cooperative relations between the 
church and the missions began moreover there was a tend- 
ency on both sides to insist upon rights. 

In February, 1906, a committee of the Synod of the 
''Church of Christ in Japan" (Presbyterian) made the 
following statement: "It is now more than thirty years 
since the church was founded. It extends from one end of 
Japan to the other, and carries on its work through a Synod 
and Presbyteries. It has a board of missions actively 
engaged in the work of evangelization and the establish- 
ing of churches. Therefore it seems to it reasonable to 
claim that it has a right to a voice in all work carried on 
within its organization or closely connected with it. That 
is the principle for which the Sjniod stands; and for which 
it believes that churches in other lands, under like cir- 
cumstances, would stand.2 

On the other hand, some of the missions were disposed 
to urge their rights. Dr. Arthur J. Brown in his discus- 
sion at the World's Missionary Conference, 1910, said: 
"I heard a great deal during my tour in Asia about the 
rights of the boards and societies in the missions which 
ought to be preserved. I would rather go to the other 
extreme and say, ' ' 'we have no rights in Asia and Africa 
except the rights to serve our brother in the name of Christ.' "' 
This insisting on rights by both parties, theological differ- 
ences, etc., proved considerable of a hindrance to the 
progress of the negotiations and somewhat of a disturber 
of cordial feeling. But these things could at worst only 
retard somewhat such an adjustment of relations as should 
ultimately leave the native church a thoroughly self- 
governing, self-supporting and self-propagating church 
of Christ. And that consummation has now been suc- 
cessfully reached with two methods of cooperation or affili- 
ation with the four associated missions, according as each 
mission may elect. 

The same kind of movement for independence occurred 

^World's Missionary Conference, 1910, vol. 2, p. 36. 
'World's Missionary Conference, 1910, vol. 2, p. 345. 



182 GEORGE M. ROWLAND 

in the Methodist fellowship. In a general conference, 
May 22-June 2, 1907, was consummated a union which 
consolidated into one Japan Methodist Church results 
of the work of missions of the Methodist Episcopal, Metho- 
dist Episcopal Church, South, and the Methodist Church, 
Canada. On Sunday, June 2, Rev. Yoitsu Honda was 
duly consecrated as first bishop of the new united Japan 
Methodist Church. Bishop Honda is the first Japanese 
bishop of any church. He is probably the first bishop 
to be consecrated from any of the Far Eastern peoples. 
With regard to the relations of the missionaries to this 
new church, the Japanese members of the conference 
made the overture which is embodied in the following 
resolution : 

Resolved: That every missionary regularly appointed by the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
South, or the Methodist Church, Canada, to work in cooperation 
with the Methodist Church of Japan, as contemplated in the 
basis of union adopted by the commissioners of said churches, 
shall by virtue of such appointment be entitled to all the rights 
and privileges of actual membership in the annua» conference 
where his service is being rendered, so long as his administra- 
tion and conduct conform to our discipline. 

Every such missionary who may in writing elect to serve in 
this relation shall be subject to the assignment and direction of 
the missionary authorities of the church by which he is supported, 
in consultation with the Kantoku (bishop). 

In the event of his non-conformity to our discipline, the Kantoku 
shall in writing so advise the missionary authorities of the church 
to which such missionary is responsible; and the course to be 
pursued shall then be determined by consultation between the 
Kantoku and said missionary authorities/ 

These terms were considered quite satisfactory and were 
cordially accepted by most of the missionaries. Accord- 
ingly the missionaries now "are either Bucho (presiding 
elders or chairmen), evangelists at large itinerating over 
part or the whole of a district, or by the joint action of 
the appointing power of their respective missions and 
Bishop Honda, assigned to the oversight of particular 
fields, or, in some cases, they are left free to develop work 

*Cary's History of Christianity in Japan, p. 341. 



THE MODEEN JAPANESE CHRISTIAN CHURCH 183 

of their own in the cities where they reside or in the sur- 
rounding country, alway however making it contributory 
to the work of the Japan Methodist Church. "° 

The Episcopal and Connexional organization is proving 
a heavy financial burden but the brethren are struggling 
with it manfully and in time they are bound to win out. 

Through this somewhat detailed survey it will be seen 
that Christianity in its Congregational, Presbyterian and 
Methodist forms has taken root in Japan. The institu- 
tion of the church has become native to the soil. It has 
become nationalized. The other communions are press- 
ing on toward the same state of maturity. For the most 
part the foreign and native workers alike are eagerly antic- 
ipating the day when each can say, ''our church has been 
planted in Japan." 

Relation of Native Churches to Missionaries 

There was a period of about a decade just before the 
negotiations for independence above outlined when the 
relations between the missionaries and their Japanese 
brethren were from time to time considerably strained. 
It was a period when the Japanese and foreign workers 
were cooperating in the work of Christianizing Japan, 
but the methods of cooperation were less clearly defined. 
The missions were working along the lines that had been 
in use for many years. They were sometimes inclined 
to regard themselves as the principal workers and their 
Japanese brethren as "helpers," ''native agents," or 
what-not, according to the terminology of the home boards 
used in statistical tables and in reports where the work 
among uncivilized tribes and highly civilized peoples was 
all treated alike. The foreigners were also not infrequently 
rather over tenacious of "orthodox" statements of Chris- 
tian truth, despite the fact that it was their general pur- 
pose to promulgate a life rather than a form, the truth of 
salvation rather then any statement of that truth. They 

^Christian Movement in Japan, 1909, p. 294. 



184 GEORGE M. ROWLAND 

also felt such responsibility toward their home boards 
in the administration of funds as now and again gave offense. 
In short, the missionaries had not yet become fully accli- 
mated. They were still working in a sort of religious extra- 
territorial atmosphere. 

At the same time, the real life of the Japanese churches 
and ministers was rapidly developing. Their leaders were 
more and more becoming competent leaders. They chafed 
under the financial restraints. Their Oriental intuition 
in the interpretation of the Oriental Bible and the Oriental 
Christ made it impossible for them to express their faith 
in the terms of Occidental, much less in those of medieval 
creedal statements; and the mere suggestions of the ** native 
helpers" sort of missionary report, however much they 
might be explained away, were an offense to the sensitive 
Japanese spirit. Moreover, our Japanese brethren felt 
that all this sort of relation of subordination to the foreign 
propagandists prejudiced them in the eyes of their own 
nationals and greatly hindered the progress of the Gospel 
and the growth of their churches. 

The actual working out of such relations moreover, in 
all honesty be it confessed, led to no little mutual irritation 
and friction. Occasionally, a joint committee of Japanese 
and foreigners would be divided concerning some question 
under discussion exactly on race Unes. This fact itself 
tended to rouse feelings other than fraternal. Is it any 
wonder that both Japanese "leaders" and foreign workers 
earnestly desired a better way? The wonder is that the 
missionaries didn't sense the situation and remedy it 
earlier. But perhaps the time and the native church were 
not ripe for the change much earlier than it came. 

Now that the organic relations between the three great 
Japanese bodies and the associated missions have been 
clearly defined the relations of the individual missionary 
have also become clear and pleasant. There is a new cor- 
diahty on the part of the churches, their laity and their 
mdnistry ahke, toward the foreign missionary. They re- 
joice in our presence, welcome our aid and seek an in- 
crease in our numbers. They welcome us as individuals 



THE MODERN JAPANESE CHRISTIAN CHURCH 185 

into church fellowship and as members of the churches 
they welcome us to a place in the local and national bodies. 
In the Methodist body foreigners in some cases serve 
as presiding elders. The happy solution of the problem 
of relations in these three bodies, Congregational, Presby- 
terian and Methodist, has blazed the way for a like happy 
adjustment in all the other communions which will un- 
doubtedly in due time be fully realized. 

Increased Aggressiveness 

Beginning with the period of endeavor on the part of 
the Japanese churches for a full independence — for conve- 
nience, say the close of the Russo-Japanese War in 1905 — 
there has been a notable increase in activity, a new aggres- 
siveness amongst the churches. Old lines of effort have 
been retained and vigorously pushed. Individuals of the 
Christian community have zealously and effectively led 
in various forms of eleemosynary work, orphanages, prison- 
gate efforts, schools for the blind, etc. Still eleemosynary 
work is the point perhaps where today the churches most 
feel their inadequacy, a point also at which foreign workers 
are able to render most effective service. They are doing 
so in the rescue of fallen women, in settlement work, in 
leper hospitals and in other like endeavor. 

There is an increasing volume of Christian literature 
issuing from the presses, periodical literature and litera- 
ture in the more full and permanent forms. But most 
of this is sporadic and disconnected. There is now being 
put forth an effort to produce more systematically a litera- 
ture suited to the need of the times. The Japanese because 
they write in their own tongue are the most effective writers. 
But missionaries are active in forwarding the plans and in 
producing certain works for which no competent Japanese 
author seems as yet to have arisen. 

In education also a new impetus seems to have been 
given. The churches are uniting in an effort to develop 
a better system of Christian educational institutions cul- 
minating in a Christian university. This is for the double 



186 GEORGE M. ROWLAND 

purpose of raising up a better equipped ministry for leader- 
ship in churches and a better equipped laity for leadership 
in public affairs, in all the walks of life. As yet however 
the things to record in educational effort are plans in the 
making rather than institutions founded. 

As should be expected the most strenuous efforts of the 
churches have been put forth in direct evangehsm. At 
the beginning of the negotiations for independence and 
really as a part of the movement for independence the 
Kumi-ai churches inaugurated a special campaign for 
evangelism to continue through one whole year. A special 
budget was raised by prominent laymen to meet the ex- 
penses of this campaign. The same sort of thing has been 
done now for six successive years. The methods of evangel- 
izing have been varied as experience has shown wise and 
as conditions in the churches and in society have seemed 
to demand. But the great forward movement has con- 
tinued with what we hope to be increasing effectiveness, 
till for the year 1910 the accessions to the churches on con- 
fession of faith were about one-tenth of the total member- 
ship. And there has been a similar forward movement 
in evangelization in the Presbyterian and Methodist bodies 
with similar gratifying results. 

This extra and somewhat extraordinary evangehstic 
work has been carried on chiefly by pastors who have their 
own churches to care for and who really have more work 
in their own several parishes than they can do. Prominent 
laymen and missionaries have helped in the campaigns 
as they have been able. But the planning of the work and 
the chief labor of carrying the plans have been done by the 
Japanese pastors who are already over-worked. 

At the same time these three great churches have had 
a care for their fellow nationals who have emigrated to 
Hawaii, to America, to Korea, to Manchuria, to China 
and elsewhere. Especially have they sent missionaries 
to the Japanese in Korea and Manchuria and organized 
Japanese churches in those countries. 

And, latest and ripest of the fruit of independence, Japa- 
nese Christianity has itself entered upon the era of foreign 



THE MODERN JAPANESE CHRISTIAN CHURCH 187 

missions. The Church of Christ of Japan (Presbyterian) 
has sent a mission to China and made a beginning of work 
for China's milhons. The Kumi-ai body has sent (June 
20, 1911) a mission to the Korean people. As Korea has 
been annexed to Japan this may not be technically speaking 
a foreign mission. But since the Koreans are a people 
of alien birth, alien customs and alien language it is to all 
intents a foreign mission. So that the Japanese church 
with its coming to maturity has become self-propagating 
at home and propagating abroad. 

It may be well to remark here by way of parenthesis 
the value of this development for the sake of the evangel- 
ization of the whole Far East, for despite the differences 
between Japanese and Koreans or between Japanese and 
Chinese they are all Orientals with essentially the same 
intellectual, ethical and reUgious background for their 
several civilizations. All write with the same ideographs, 
all own Confucius as moral teacher and all have been 
influenced by the religion of Shaka Muni. Thus it comes 
that the Oriental can understand the Oriental as we Occi- 
dentals can never hope to do. So also the Oriental can 
evangelize the Oriental as we Occidentals can never hope 
to do. All hail the day when the Japanese church shall 
be able adequately to undertake the evangelization of the 
neighboring Eastern peoples. 

Church Union 

In common with other mission fields Japan is making 
her contribution to church union. The allegiance of the 
Japanese Christian to his own denomination is a constant 
surprise to the missionaries. It is comparatively rare 
and seems strangely difficult for a faithful Congregational 
or Presbyterian or Methodist Christian to transfer his 
membership to another body even if he reside in a place 
where there is no church of his own order. And yet the 
accomplishments already made in the line of church union 
and church federation are considerable. The Church of 
Christ of Japan (Presbyterian) is itself a union of churches 



188 GEORGE M. ROWLAND 

that grew up as the result of the work of four large missions. 
The Japan Methodist Church includes churches that were 
formerly associated with three home churches. The Seiko- 
kwai (Episcopal) unites in one body the churches that 
grew out of the labors of the missions of the Society for 
the Propagation of the Gospel and the Church Missionary 
Society (British) and of the American Episcopal Church. 

There have been at times negotiations with a view to 
the organic union of other bodies as of the Kumi-ai and 
Presbyterian several years ago and more recently of the 
Kumi-ai, Protestant Methodist and United Brethren. 
These efforts did not prove successful. But they were 
by no means in vain for they brought about a better knowl- 
edge of one another and a fuller appreciation of the strong 
points of the organization of each other. There is more- 
over in the air to-day a definite feehng after something 
hke a federation at least of all the Christian bodies in the 
country. The great Protestant Foreign Missions have 
had such a federation for some ten years already by which 
they consult together and work together. The federa- 
tion has pubhshed nine issues of an annual entitled The 
Christian Movement in Japan, which itself holds a valu- 
able place in the Christian propaganda. 

In such a country as Japan missionaries coming face to 
face as they do with a non-Christian society which yet 
has a teaching of its own soon learn to put little or no stress 
on things of lesser importance and to unite in presenting 
to the people the great and living truths of the Gospel, 
to disregard the points that separate denominations and 
to emphasize the truths which all hold in common. The 
native churches also having no interest in the divisions of the 
church in the West and not even understanding the reasons 
for those divisions find themselves nearer together than 
the emissaries who bring the Gospel to them. Thus the 
missionaries and the native churches alike are pre-disposed 
to church union. The first churches organized were all 
undenominational. The contribution of Japan then to 
the movement for church union comes naturally from both 
the foreign and the native workers. 



the modern japanese christian church 189 

Interpretation of Christianity 

The story is told of a Japanese student in a class in exegesis 
in an American institution, bringing in an interpretation 
of a particular passage of Scripture that surprised his 
instructor. The instructor asked the young man from 
what cpmmentary he got the interpretation. The fact is 
the young man had seen no commentary. The explana- 
tion was the one that appeared most natural to his own 
Oriental mind. It was intuitive. The incident is such as 
might well occur in any Occidental class room where there 
is an Oriental student. 

As a matter of fact every great civilization that has 
received Christianity has made its contribution toward 
the interpretation of Christian truth. Greek philosophy 
led to certain valuable theological statements. Roman 
Imperial examples led to the development of a world-wide 
church organization. Teutonic experience applied the 
Christian teaching of faith to the everyday life of the indi- 
vidual. And if according to the expectation of John Rob- 
inson "the Lord has more truth and light yet to break 
forth out of His holy Word," simple analogy would lead 
us to expect that the Far East would have something to 
add toward the fuller appreciation of the Divine Revela- 
tion. Now add to the simple analogy the fact that whereas 
the Greek, the Roman and the Teuton were all Western 
and yet have helped us to know our Eastern book, the 
Japanese has the advantage of his Oriental inheritance 
of thought and feeling and life and therefore brings to the 
interpretation of our Oriental religion a peculiar fitness 
that ought to enable him to see in it ever increasing new- 
ness of light and to receive from it ever increasing abun- 
dance of life. We of the West may well expect our brethren 
of the East to become our teachers in not a few Christian 
things. This they are indeed already doing. And this they 
themselves aspire more and more to accomplish. 



SOME RESULTS OF CHRISTIAN WORK IN JAPAN 

By Rev. Charles M. Warren, for twelve years a missionary of 
the American Board in Japan 

The great visible result of the Christian work which for 
fifty-two years has been carried on in Japan is the churches. 
Of these, however, another is to speak. The task of this 
paper is to call your attention to some other results of Chris- 
tian work as a whole, irrespective of creed or race. 

Japan has been a missionary country since the second 
entry of the Roman Catholic missionaries, and the first 
arrival of the Protestant missionaries. The country has 
been open to foreign residence since 1859. She still is a 
missionary country as may be seen from the fact that there 
are now about eight hundred foreign Christian workers, men 
and women, still at work there. And lastly, a very inter- 
esting fact, Japan desires to be considered for years to come 
a missionary country. In this I do not, of course, ignore 
the fact that there are Christian Japanese who consider it 
patriotic to urge that all the Christian work should be done 
by the Japanese themselves. But of these the number is 
gradually diminishing as it dawns upon them that it is rather 
a narrow selfish provincialism than a disinterested patriot- 
ism that causes this. On the other hand, there are three 
facts that lead us to believe that Japan desires missionaries. 
First of all, the missions of all denominations are requesting 
new missionaries from their home boards. Some missions 
are even requesting a doubling of their forces. This, of 
course reflects foreign judgment, but it shows, what for our 
purpose is the main thing, that the missionaries feel that the 
relations between themselves and the Japanese churches 
which are influenced by, and in turn influence the interna- 
tional feeling — that these relations are such that they can 
conscientiously, not to say enthusiastically, invite others 
to come to enter into these relations. Secondly, the individ- 

190 



SOME RESULTS OF CHRISTIAN WORK IN JAPAN 191 

ual churches desire more missionaries as is evidenced by 
the frequent requests which these churches are making that 
a missionary be located in their httle town to work with 
them. They prefer, of course, an experienced missionary 
and frequently name their choice; but if they can not get a 
man already on the field they gladly welcome the newcomer 
from America. Again, the Japanese leaders in the churches 
are asking that new missionaries be sent out. To one 
familiar with the situation twelve of fifteen years ago, the 
revolutionary character of this position will be obvious. 
Then they did not desire this and this anti-missionary feeling 
was given expression to in word and deed. But now they 
have outgrown that feeling, experience having proved that 
in the continuance of the missionaries there is no danger 
to the independent status of the churches. In this con- 
nection it is interesting to note that the recent pro-mission- 
ary movement was launched by a Japanese pastor of Tokyo, 
who, having visited this country, went home so imbued 
with the idea and spirit of the brotherhood of man that he 
made this the basis of his action in appearing by request 
at the annual meeting of one of the missions and plead- 
ing for more missionaries. The statements on this last 
point are probably most accurately descriptive of the situ- 
ation in the Congregational churches in Japan. But they 
are, though to a lesser degree probably, indicative of the 
general attitude of the Japanese churches on the missionary 
question. 

In the above and in what follows, the missionary is differ- 
entiated from the Japanese Christian workers because our 
purposes in a paper at this conference necessitate our look- 
ing at the missionary not in his capacity as a Christian 
worker but as a foreigner. This is of course contrary to our 
desires and contrary to our method of procedure in Japan 
where the missionaries take such great joy in the solidarity 
of the work and in the unity of the workers, foreign and 
Japanese. 

All this preliminary discussion of the missionary is intro- 
ductory to, and explanatory of, the first point that I wish 
to make: namely, that the missionary has been a factor 



192 CHARLES M. WARREN 

in bringing about whatever of good feeling now exists 
between the peoples of Japan and the United States. The 
word peoples is used in contradistinction to governments. 
In this country the theory that the people are the ultimate 
rulers is pretty nearly substantiated by the facts. In Japan, 
constitutional in government though she may be, and a 
legislative parliament though she may have, yet the real 
government is not yet by the people. 

The platform of this conference magnifies the truth that 
mutual understanding is of great importance in the estab- 
lishment and maintenance of pleasant relations between 
peoples. What has the missionary been able to contribute 
towards this mutual understanding between Japan and the 
United States? 

The first relations of the Japanese with Americans were 
diplomatic, which means that they were of governments. 
It must be an unceasing source of gratification to Americans 
that the first American ambassadors, who had in charge 
the work of establishing relations with the Japanese were 
men of the type of Matthew C. Perry and Townsend Harris. 
From the time of the sending of these men to Japan, as 
well as of the Iwakura embassy to the United States and 
Europe in 1871, the Japanese date their friendship for us. 
We do not mean that at that time the Japanese looked upon 
Commodore Perry as anything but a powerful barbarian 
to whose superior might they were compelled for the time 
to bow. Later and calmer judgment, however, has con- 
vinced them that not only do they owe a debt of gratitude 
to the United States for having compelled them to open 
their doors, but that they should also be grateful that it 
was Commodore Perry who did it in his tactful though firm 
way instead of a representative of a European nation. For, 
at that time at least, European nations were not in the 
habit of dealing with Asiatic peoples gently and tactfully. 

So much for the diplomatic contact. After this the next 
force making for this great end was the missionary. The 
statement of four facts will serve to show the possibility 
of the missionary's helping in this matter: 

First, the large majority of Protestant missionaries now, 



SOME RESULTS OF CHRISTIAN WORK IN JAPAN 193 

about three-fourths in fact, are Americans. Second, the 
Christian schools have been largely carried on by the Amer- 
ican missionaries. And third, the American missionaries 
encouraged by spoken word and financial aid the going of 
young Japanese men and women to America for purposes 
of study. No statistics are available but personal experi- 
ence leads me to believe that nine Japanese young men and 
women are educated in America to one in Europe. Thus 
we see the especial possibilities for influencing Japanese, 
especially young, impressionable Japanese. These mission- 
aries love their native land, absence only making it the more 
dear. They come also to love their adopted home, Japan. 
With these peculiar feelings towards the two countries 
the conditions for setting forth to the Japanese the good 
points of America are ideal; and the reasons being obvious 
and cogent, no opportunity is lost. And many and many 
a Japanese, from prime-minister and university professor 
down, is glad to tell how his warm regard for the United 
States began in his esteem of the missionary representative 
of America. 

An excellent illustration of this point is seen in the address 
given by Professor Fujisawa of the Imperial University of 
Tokyo before the Jubilee Christian Conference held in 
Tokyo two years ago. The title of the address was ''The 
Influence of Missionaries upon the Education and Civili- 
zation of Japan." Now a professor of an imperial univer- 
sity in Japan is considered to be in a certain sense a public 
official. So that it meant a certain amount of official rec- 
ognition of Christianity for him to appear at the Confer- 
ence at all. Among other things he mentioned a list of 
notable men of title who had expressed their appreciation 
of what missionaries had done not only for the country, 
but also for themselves personally. He also cited the fact 
that Prince Iwakura, whose mission to America and Europe 
has already been referred to, upon leaving America sent 
an official letter of thanks for what Dr. Ferris had done to 
help Japanese students in America. His comment upon 
this is as follows: ''It seems to me that this letter of thanks 
for what Dr. Ferris had done to help Japanese students in 



194 CHARLES M. WARREN 

America is the voice of the nation." This Dr. Ferris was 
secretary of one of the mission boards. 

In all the above I have been going upon the assumption 
that the Japanese people have towards the Americans a 
real warm friendly feeling. This assumption is the result 
of my few years of experience among the people. And I 
have been unable to find another missionary who does not 
share this feeling. 

And not only in Japan but also upon his return to this 
country the missionary is in a position to reiterate his belief 
in the feelings and intentions of the Japanese towards the 
United States, and in some small way endeavor to replace 
by the truth as he sees it what seems to him to be the tissue 
of falsehood which has been woven by some Americans, 
whether sincerely or with unworthy motives. 

The name that spontaneously arises to our lips as we 
hear this program of missionary activity is that of John H. 
DeForest, statesman-missionary. Probably no man among 
the whole missionary body in recent years has done more 
than he along the line we are considering. Of long expe- 
rience with the people, having an oratorical vocabulary 
and style in Japanese attained by very few foreigners, he 
accomplished so much in his own field of labor, Sendai, 
that his name became known and the demand for his talents 
nation-wide in Japan. He addressed huge gatherings of Jap- 
anese students and officials in the interests of international 
peace, until at last he became almost missionary-at-large 
for the Empire. But while he was able to do so much among 
the Japanese in unfolding American customs and ideals, 
perhaps an even greater work awaited him upon his return 
to this country on furlough. All through his career he had 
been an expositor of Japanese character and ideals to the 
American people as correspondent of the Independent and 
other periodicals. While he was at home on furlough a few 
years ago the opportunity for platform work in the interests 
of international peace was thrust upon him and so conspic- 
uous was his success that he was made Japan vice-president 
of the American Peace Society, and his printed addresses 
circulated as a part of their recognized peace propaganda. 



SOME RESULTS OF CHRISTIAN WORK IN JAPAN 195 

Upon his return to Japan he was decorated by the emperor 
for his conspicuous services in the cultivation of good feehng 
between Japan and the United States. That this recog- 
nition of those services was sincere and shared by the people 
is shown by the great public reception given him upon his ar- 
rival at Sendai and by the immense assembly which attended 
his funeral last spring. It is shown by the exceptional 
treatment accorded him when he visited Manchuria in war 
time; and again when he visited Korea at about the time of 
its annexation. The Japanese officials realized that in him 
they had a friend to whom they might entrust the truth 
that he might interpret it to the American people. Dr. 
DeForest is the most conspicuous example of what is being 
done today, though on a humbler scale, by practically 
every one of the five hundred missionaries in Japan. And 
this is only the active and open, as it were the official side 
of the missionary's work along these lines. In addition 
there is the daily word of personal conversation or that 
spoken from the pulpit or the teacher's chair. 

The fact that this conference is proves your belief in the 
efficacy of a good understanding between nations in the 
maintenance of right relationships between nations. In 
dealing with thought and feeling, especially the thought 
and feeling of a whole nation, it is practically impossible 
to furnish proofs. I have simply suggested for your con- 
sideration a few points upon which may be based an esti- 
mate of the usefulness of the missionary in this regard. 

From the standpoint of the mission boards of fifty years 
ago this would have been regarded as a by-product. But 
the enlightened leadership of our boards today is proud 
to claim this as a direct result of the sending of missionaries. 
And if it is contributing one iota towards peaceful relations 
between Japan and the United States it may well be con- 
sidered a not unimportant part of the work of missions. 

A second result to which I would call your attention, 
though very briefly, is the work of the Christian institutions. 
In this portion of the paper the missionary and the Christian 
Japanese work is considered as one, for we are considering 
now some results of fifty-two years of Christian work not 



196 CHARLES M. WARREN 

of missionary work. Some of these institutions, then, you 
are to understand are carried on by the missions, some are 
ahnost entirely the work of the Japanese Christians, and 
some are the product of a combination of the two forces. 
This paper takes it for granted that you are acquainted 
with the splendid work which the Y. M. C. A. is doing all 
over Japan and therefore simply mentions this at the head 
of the list of institutions. These institutions are of nearly 
all the kinds with which we are famiUar in this country. 

The Japanese are themselves amply able to do their own 
medical work. As medical missions, then, play at present 
only a small part in Japan missionary work we are not sur- 
prised to find few hospitals and dispensaries on our list. 
There are some, however, and at the very beginning of Chris- 
tian work this was a very important feature. 

The most conspicuous and valuable of these Christian 
institutions are the schools. Nearly every mission has 
some schools connected with it of kindergarten and of high- 
school grade for boys and girls. The oldest, largest and 
most celebrated of these schools is the Doshisha University, 
which has had a history of thirty-five years and owns a 
finely situated plant in Kyoto. Next to the schools per- 
haps the orphanages are the most important. The most 
conspicuous of all these is the Okayama Orphanage. The 
founder of this, Mr. Ishii, professedly following the exam- 
ple of George Mliller of Bristol, built up, with the help 
and counsel of the foreign missionary, an institution in 
which at one time twelve hundred children were cared for, 
entirely on a faith basis. Of the institutions of secondary 
importance we may notice rescue homes for women, homes 
for ex-prisoners, homes for old people, a factory girls' home, 
settlement work, day-nurseries and creches. 

Such in outline are some of the institutions that express 
the philanthropic side of Christianity. But perhaps Chris- 
tianity's best work has been in awakening the public inter- 
est, and in inspiring the public enthusiasm, in philanthropic 
institutions. The Y. M. C. A., to take a concrete case, 
soon proved to be meeting a deeply felt need. Before many 
years there was organized in competition a Y. M.-5.-A., a 



SOME RESULTS OF CHRISTIAN WORK IN JAPAN 197 

Young Men's Buddhist Association. Buddhist workers for 
young men were compelled in self-defence to organize 
along similar lines. Again, the success of the Christians 
with their orphanages was the cause of the springing up 
of a host of imitators. If imitation be the height of flattery, 
the Christians feel flattered indeed when very frequently 
in imitation of their own methods there appears at their 
doors a subscription paper for a Buddhist orphanage three 
or four hundred miles away! 

I also have a good authority behind me in saying that 
although the instructional form of service was not unknown 
at the Buddhist temples before, yet since Christianity's 
advent the sermon is much more common in the Buddhist 
temple than it used to be. One of the most authoritative 
recent publications on Japan is Count Okuma's Fifty Years 
of New Japan, which is a collection of monographs on vari- 
ous subjects by men whom Count Okuma esteemed to be 
the best qualified available men on that particular subject. 
The writer of the chapter on Buddhism is J. Takakusu, 
Doctor of Letters in Japan, and M.A. and Ph.D. from for- 
eign universities, professor in the Imperial University at 
Tokyo. Let me quote: ^'The methods and attitudes 
taken by the Christians in their missionary work gave the 
Buddhists new incentives for the improvement of their or- 
ganization, doctrines and philanthropic work." And again: 
"Another evidence of Christian influence upon Bud- 
dhism is shown in the estabUshment of sectarian schools 
of various kinds, and especially in an eagerness to start 
schools for girls and women — a point to which hitherto 
small attention has been paid. " Thus does this fair-minded 
Buddhist authority, writing for Japanese readers, speak of 
the influence of Christianity upon Buddhism. 

The lives also of the missionary and of the Christian 
pastor have proved in many cases a revelation; and the 
people are demanding in their Buddhist teachers a moral 
life. In self-defence, too, the tone of the non-Christian 
teaching has been raised. Christian preaching often results 
in more earnest living up to the light they have. For in- 
stance, a friend who has a very effective stereopticon talk 



198 CHARLES M. WARREN 

on the "Prodigal Son" tells me that as the non-Christians 
who come, attracted by the free entertainment, are leaving, 
they frequently remark to each other: '^ That's right. We 
ought to go to the temples more and be better men." 

Now, the foregoing is simply evidence on my third point, 
wnich is the change in ideals due to Christianity. Ideals 
have been elevated. The instances adduced above are in 
the more visible realm. But the influence of Christianity 
towards the elevation of ideals in more intangible and spir- 
itual ways is just as real, though harder to demonstrate. 
Ideals have been elevated. One needs only to go back 
fifty-two years to compare the condition of things then 
and now to see the truth of this. To enumerate some of 
these; there have been changes in the ideals concerning 
woman, personal moraUty, business morality, family life, 
and lastly, the value of man. Some, at least, of these changes 
in ideals were brought about in part by the flood of new 
ideas on all subjects that has been released in Japan during 
these fifty years. These changes are the resultant of a 
combination of forces at work, some will say. Very well. 
They were so caused and some of them might have come 
about without any help from Christian life and teachings 
as such. Take for instance the change that has come 
about — or at least is coming, slowly — in the ideals of busi- 
ness moraUty. As I return to America and meet people, 
I find that there is hardly any idea that has a wider accept- 
ance with regard to the Japanese than the one which com- 
pares the commercial integrity of the Japanese with that 
of the Chinese greatly to the detriment of the Japanese. 
Now personally I believe there are two sides to that question; 
but without doubt there has been in the past a deplorable 
deficiency in Japanese business circles in their ideals of 
commercial honor. The beginnings of this are to be traced 
to the fact that in the old feudal regime the merchant was 
the lowest of the classes of citizens. He was expected 
to cheat — and he, of course, did not disappoint those ex- 
pectations. That was considered not a trick of the trade, 
but rather a legitimate method in trading. Now these 
merchants are the ones who are most in contact with the 



SOME BESULTS OF CHRISTIAN WORK IN JAPAN 199 

commercial classes of foreigners, and their ideas with regard 
to what is legitimate in business have necessarily been mod- 
ified by that contact. They found that if they wanted to 
do business advantageously with the European merchant 
they would be compelled to conform more nearly to the 
European standards of business morality. Baron Shibusawa, 
Japan's greatest man of business, heading the deputation 
of business men to this country two years ago, was shocked 
at the bad name the Japanese merchant has among us; 
and seeing the basis of truth in the charges, upon his return 
to Japan strenuously urged in the widely read trade-jour- 
nals the acceptance of a new code. It may be possible in 
this case that purely upon the honesty-is-the-best-policy 
principle this would have been changed in any case. 

In the above I do not mean to imply that the Japanese 
merchants have already arrived. I believe there is still 
room for improvement. But anyone at all acquainted 
with the facts will admit this change for the better in ideals 
along this line. 

From the above it will be seen that I am very ready to 
ascribe to other causes whatever of credit I can see that 
they deserve in bringing about this change of ideals. But 
allowing amply for all these other sources, the change in 
ideals, especially with regard to the highest matters, or 
if you prefer, the most spiritual matters, has only come 
about through Christian influence. Let us consider the 
ideal as to the value of the individual human being. In 
this I don't mean merely in the ancient sense of a soul to 
be saved into heaven. I mean the value of the whole man, 
body, mind and soul. Let us briefly note some of the 
changes in ideals concerning man that have come about in 
these fifty years. Fifty years ago, to begin with a stock 
illustration, the warrior with a new sword could order any 
member of an inferior class to kneel down in order that he 
might test the new sword in making a clean cut in taking 
his head from his shoulders. Not that this was done very 
often. But it could be done and actually was done. Com- 
pare with this the present law upon the statute books which 
says, "Thou shalt not kill," and says it equally to the prime 



200 CHARLES M. WARREN 

minister and to the common citizen. Ah, but you are over- 
turning your own argument, it will be said. These laws 
are based upon the Code Napoleon and bear no relation 
to the work of Christians in Japan. As far as that goes 
the Code Napoleon is based on the Mosaic laws which 
Christianity claims as its foundation and background; so 
that the result is the same whether the law was copied from 
the Paris law books of the Sinaitic. Of course I do not 
claim any peculiar credit for Christianity as such in the 
Japanese legal code. But, permit me to ask, whence comes 
the public opinion that lies behind those laws? For no 
one who knows the Japanese can for an instant think that 
if the police force of the country were withdrawn Japan 
would become an anarchistic aggregation of savages. The 
laws are enforced in large measure by public sentiment as 
well as by police force, though this public sentiment may 
not yet be so enlightened as that of countries which emerged 
from their feudal age three hundred instead of fifty years ago. 
Whence, I repeat, comes this public opinion? And again, 
how is it in some cases that public sentiment actually sur- 
passes the laws? New laws of a high moral purpose are 
from time to time added to statute book or city ordinance. 
Of such a nature is the recent closing of the most flagrant 
of the five prostitute quarters in the great city of Osaka. 
After the conflagration of two years ago, by the circulation 
of petitions the authorities were forced to refuse the rebuild- 
ing of one section of the city for that purpose. And the 
leaders in the movement were Christians. The work cer- 
tainly would never have been done were it not for the Y. M. 
C. A. and the churches of Osaka. And unless Christianity 
had been quietly at work for years sending forth its high 
ideal of womanhood and of personal morality the tens of 
thousands of non-Christians who signed that petition never 
would have done so. Without this new ideal of civic and 
personal righteousness among the masses in that great city 
it would have been impossible for this great cleansing to 
have been forced upon the city. 

But to return to the ideals concerning man's value. Fifty 
3^ears ago there might be someone to kill the body; there 



SOME RESULTS OF CHRISTIAN WORK IN JAPAN 201 

certainly were few to aid, or cure, or care for that body. 
The hospitals, the lazarettos, the institutions for the orphan, 
the blind, the deaf and dumb have all been built since then. 
And the ideals as to the method of conducting the already 
existing institutions have changed for the better. In one 
case we have absolute knowledge as to how this came about. 
An American medical missionary came to know conditions 
in the prisons of Japan and with an introduction from 
the American minister to Okubo, the minister for home 
affairs, he enlisted that statesman's interest. Prison doors 
throughout the empire were opened to him and his investi- 
gation was made the basis of a report to Minister Okubo 
himself. At that time the Japanese idea of the function 
of prisons was the punitive one with the added idea that 
if they were made otherwise than places of punishment 
they would be crowded by people glad of even such asylum. 
The report sent in to Minister Okubo stood squarely upon 
the modern humanitarian idea that the criminal is incar- 
cerated for the protection of society, not to cause him to 
suffer for his crime. And in the report stress was laid upon 
the efficacy of Christianity itself as a corrective in the prison 
as in the nation. This book was placed as a text-book in 
the hands of persons responsible for prisons in the Empire 
and the results in a very few years were astonishing. This 
one book had changed in a remarkable degree the ideals of 
legal and penal circles as to the value of man. That the 
Japanese consider the above to be the facts in the case and 
that they hold in honor the man who did it is shown by 
the fact that the story is narrated in Count Okuma's book 
already referred to. Count Okuma's book remarks: "In 
conclusion there is one thing we must not forget for a mo- 
ment, namely, the important part played by Christianity in 
these reforms," and then continues with the story as told 
above. And again when last year there was a prison con- 
gress in Washington, D. C, the Japanese representative 
told the story. When he learned that the man to whom 
his country felt such a debt of gratitude was still alive he 
expressed great surprise and gratification and made a special 
journey in order to visit that ex-medical missionary and 



202 CHARLES M. WARREN 

convey to him the official thanks of his government. The 
man who did this was a Christian gentleman serving as a 
Christian missionary and definitely endeavoring in every 
way that presented itself to spread Christian ideas. He 
accomplished his reform by means of a book that stood 
squarely upon Christian principles, and which definitely 
taught Christian principles and ideas. This conference 
being held at Worcester it is eminently fitting to state that 
the man who was responsible for prison reform in Japan 
is your honored townsman, Dr. J. C. Berry. 

Fifty years ago if one were of the wealthy or warrior class 
he might obtain a very limited education. Today educa- 
tion is compulsory, with 36,000 schools of all grades and 
sorts in the empire. Such is the change in the ideal of man's 
value from the intellectual standpoint. 

Fifty years ago where were the 92 rescue homes for women, 
the 100 orphan asylums, the 74 reformatories, the 37 homes 
for ex-prisoners and all the other institutions indicative 
of the present desire for the moral and spiritual welfare of 
the people? 

This is only the merest suggestion of the different ideals 
now and fifty years ago concerning the physical, intellec- 
tual, and spiritual welfare of man. The difference is there : 
whence comes it? The axiom that water cannot rise higher 
than its source has only a limited degree of truth when trans- 
ferred to the spiritual realm. Spiritual truth is to be likened 
to a developing plant rather than to running water. But 
in one sense as it is true that water cannot rise higher than 
its source, so it is true that reform cannot rise beyond the 
ideals of the reformers. These ideals are rapidly approach- 
ing the Christian. To what other source than the Chris- 
tianity in Japan can they be traced? They were not brought 
from Europe and America by the Japanese themselves; 
for it is an interesting phenomenon that when the Japanese 
Christians come to America they are frequently shocked 
at the wickedness and worldhness of this self-styled Christian 
country. They were not obtained through diplomacy. 
Unfortunately the golden rule is not yet working between 
nations. The men from Europe and America who form 



SOME RESULTS OF CHRISTIAN WORK IN JAPAN 203 

the commercial classes in the ports of Japan are certainly 
not responsible for inculcating any high principles of spir- 
ituality. For though, as we have seen, they might help 
in the development of a commercial morality, the high 
ideals concerning woman, for instance, are not traceable 
to the influence of the morality of the ports of Japan. If 
Christianity is not to be credited with these phenomena — 
if, as my subject puts it, this is not one result of fifty years 
of Christianity in Japan, then are we at a loss as to its cause. 
I have endeavored to show that there is among the fifty 
millions of Japanese citizens an increasingly enlightened 
body of ideals along these various Hues. We are not to 
consider this as a fixed thing, nor as up to the grade of some 
other countries. But it is growing and growing rapidly. 
While the general civilization, itself the result of Christian- 
ity in other countries, which Japan has absorbed, has un- 
doubtedly played an important part in bringing this about, 
yet to some extent it is the direct product of the influence 
of Christian teaching and Christian lives. So deeply do 
I feel this that I believe that if there were not a single Jap- 
anese Christian or a single church building in Japan today — 
if, in other words, there were absolutely no visible or tangi- 
ble result of these fifty-two years of Christian work — yet 
in view of this change of ideals alone every cent of money 
expended and every minute of time spent in the Christian 
propaganda would be well worth while. 



A LITERARY LEGEND: "THE ORIENTAL" 

By Wm. Elliot Griffis, D.D., L.H.D., Educational Pioneer 
in Japan, formerly of the Imperial University of Tokyo 

A literary legend has been developed, which sets in sharp- 
est opposition the so-called Orient and the fondly named 
Occident. Poet, dramatist, sentimental writer, novelist 
and maker of sensational machinery for the stage, picture 
show and quick-selling newspaper, have created the ''Ori- 
ental" of imagination, fancy, prejudice and bigotry, who 
has no counterpart in reality, or has ever existed. It has 
become a "vested interest," a staple and stock in trade, 
a permanent and ever-promising speculation to picture 
"the Oriental" as a being in human form whose nature is 
fundamentally different from the "Occidental." Such a 
delineation and contrast has mercantile value. It pays 
in what the American loves so dearly — money. It increases 
the sale of tickets at the box office. It enlarges the circu- 
lation of the newspapers. It delights the mob. The vote 
seeking politician approves as if it were soundest orthodoxy. 
It has ever been used in certain varieties of pulpit minis- 
tration and missionary propaganda to buttress the dogmas 
supposed to be of Christian origin. 

The creation of this ideal person, "the Oriental," is a 
comparatively modern affair. We look in vain in the an- 
cient literatures to find him. The greatest of all libraries 
throws no direct light on "the race problem." The first 
Christian saints know nothing of his whereabouts. 

The religions came out of Asia. The thought of the 
mother continent is the basis of all European faiths. Yet, 
though religion is the deepest thing in man, the men who 
made our rehgions, the Orientals, are supposed to be sepa- 
rated from us proud Occidentals by an unplummetted 
abyss of mental differences. The binding thread of all hu- 
man history is the reaction of "the East" upon "the West." 
Over and over again has "Europe" precipitated itself on 

204 



A LITERAKY LEGEND: '^THE ORIENTAL" 205 

Asia, as in the raids of conquest by Alexander and the waves 
of wild fanaticism gendered during the crusades, when the 
European peoples weltered in ignorance and superstition. 
Huns and Mongols, Saracens and Moors have shown like 
energies in return. The legions have thundered past, but 
the European marauders have but slightly disturbed 'Hhe 
East" that ''bowed in thought again." 

History makes no denial of the fact that in the only belt 
of the world's area that has any notable history, there have 
been action and reaction; but these phenomena, so far from 
proving that Asiatics and Europeans are in any way funda- 
mentally different, do but demonstrate that they are the 
same. Identical in the passions of animal instincts, greed, 
pride, ambition, conceit, and race hatred, they are one. 
In both the world of Islam, of India and of China, the poet, 
singer, fiction writer and maker of pictures, whether in word, 
by pencil, or in pigment do the same work of exaggeration 
and misrepresentation, by appeal to local ethnic or reli- 
gious feeling that has no basis in science. Race-hatred, 
ignorance, instinctive, that is, animal repulsion of every 
sort and kind are increased by orator, writer, and artist 
for a purpose. Compare the mountain range of the liter- 
ature of caricature and the appeal to passion and selfish 
motives with the paucity of truth, of knowledge and of exact 
information. In most popular or ever salable histories of 
''the world," one-fourth of the whole of it and of the race 
usually get a small fraction of the last volume in a series 
of twelve or more. Our atlases, that devote scores of pages 
to counties, states and countries, usually give to China 
and Japan, a corner and to all of Asia a single page. How 
many of our states know anything authentic, trustworthy 
or at first hand, of India's or China's history? What is 
"Orientalism" as depicted on the stage, in novels, popular 
magazines, or in books which are seriously read by other 
than a small minority. 

The "Orientalism" which sells, for which editors will 
pay, which "goes" on the theatre boards, which gets up 
periodical war scares and from nervous congressmen com- 
pels votes for big battleships, or which is set forth by poli- 



206 WM. ELLIOT GRIFFIS 

ticiaiis bidding for votes is not intrinsically different from 
that which was and is dearly loved in Europe. Fashion, 
in Tom Moore's time, fed on it. It is still a 'Trenchy" 
commodity, that is ever in demand in the literary and the- 
atrical world. Yet probably in no comitry more than in 
the United States of America, is om- legacy of prejudice 
against ''the Oriental" so worked in the interest of dollars 
and cents. 

Our grandmothers were thrilled by the sort of ''Oriental- 
ism" dished up for them by Moore, Byron, Coleridge and 
Scott. We get our mess from Kipling, Brother Hobson, 
the Sand Lots, Mr. Hearst's newspapers, some senators, 
numerous editors and playwrights, and makers of photo 
plays. 

What a pretty story Agnes Repplier has told of the 
Orientalism afforded by text-books — the kind that England 
loved. The staple consisted of the Lake of Cashmere, 
harems, slave markets, Georgians, dark-eyed Arab girls, 
and Moorish Lochinvars, with plenty of gazelles, poodles, 
etc. Pathetic indeed were the attempts of Moore to ad- 
just Lalla Rookh and his other Orientalisms to the estab- 
lished conventions of London Society and the British con- 
stitution! It was indeed difficult to temper his particular 
variety of Orientalism so as to chasten its form for the read- 
ing of boys and girls, for whom "Sanford and Merton" 
was considered proper. 

We today may laugh at the opinions of Tom Moore's 
contemporaries, that he was "familiar with the grandest 
regions of the human mind, that he showed "entire famil- 
iarity with the life, nature and learning of the East," and 
was "purely and intensely Asiatic" in the detachment of 
his mind and in his poetical delineations. Why not when 
turbans and "Oriental" drapery were worn at balls, when 
fine ladies sported the dress of sultanas and houris, and 
stout British matrons wore rainbow-striped gauze frosted 
with gold — until Thackeray mocked at such tomfoolery and 
drove the dim ghost of Lalla Rookh first into the rural dis- 
atrictsnd then out of educated England. Nevertheless 
it still persists at the country fairs and itinerant penny shows. 



A LITEEARY LEGEND I ''tHE ORIENTAL" 207 

xYet behold what food our American gods feed upon, 
from the United States Senate to the San Francisco hood- 
lums. In quest of fame, dollars, votes, congressional 
appropriations for a colossal navy, what will not our news- 
papers permit and our fellow-sovereigns believe? Con- 
sult files of our journals, especially, and monthlies since 
the Russo-Japan war. Behold the unspeakable Chinese, 
who with "trickery" and "cunning," maintains a subterranean 
harem of white women. Descry that innumerable horde 
that is about to overwhelm us from China. Mark those 
regiments of Japanese ex-soldiers drilling in Hawaii! See 
the multitudinous kodaks which Japanese spies are leveling 
at our forts. See Magdalena Bay surveyed for the Mikado's 
fortifications. Can the valor of ignorance go farther than 
some of our half-dime picture shows, in depicting the set 
determination of the Tokyo statesmen to reduce the United 
States to a colony of Japan? One can almost descry Togo 
and his fleet off the coast while some possibly wait, in agony 
of alarm, to hear his chains rattle that let down the anchors 
of his warships in San Francisco Bay. 

""Hardly less sensational in their effect are the horrid phases 
and over-tinted pictures of Japanese life, country and peo- 
ple made by the lackadaisical school of writers. These pic- 
ture the Mikado's soldiers as demigods, the Japanese harlots 
and geishas as paragons, and Japan as an unspoiled Eden. 
Of course the Japanese women excel Eve, Venus, Martha 
Washington and Queen Victoria, but the men are ugly, tricky 
and capable of all meanness and villainy. 

As to the unreality of all this, an American at least not 
bound to take European tradition as truth, should be heart- 
ily ashamed. The exaggeration of falsehood, whether in 
praise or blame, should have no lodgement in the mind of 
one who lives on a continent, destined to be the middle term 
between Europe and Asia, and who loves the truth. I, 
for one, " after forty-six years' knowledge of the Japanese 
people and nearly forty years' acquaintance with Chinese 
youth and men, do not recognize 'Hhe Oriental" of popular 
imagination. A scarecrow is not to be mistaken for a living 
man, nor a flatterer's version for a true translation. To 



208 WM. ELLIOT GRIFFIS 

one who has hved among the Japanese and knows some- 
thing of their history, hterature, and art it is impossible to 
agree with the impressionist Hearn, or the vile tradueer 
whose motive, directly or indirectly, is fame or cash. The 
writers Hke Hearn and Sir Edwin Arnold, who overpraise 
and idealize the men, women and things of Nippon do, in 
reality set store chiefly upon what the twentieth century 
Japanese is ashamed of and has justly banished to the moles 
and bats. Those who overpraise the Chinese in order 
chiefly, like the deists of the eighteenth century, to strike 
at the Christian rehgion, or, in our time, to sneer at the 
missionaries, belong in much the same class as those who 
raise the nightmare of a "Mongolian" invading horde, 
or a mass of "moon-eyed lepers" corrupting the guileless 
Americans. 

\ After nearly the whole of an adult life spent directly or 
indirectly with "the Orientals," as in large part were the 
lives of my father and grandfather before me, and with an 
honest perseverance and fairly steady industry in research, 
I see absolutely no difference in the human nature of an 
Asiatic, a European or an American. From the point of 
view of science, no fundamental difference exists that should 
prevent mutual respect, appreciation, social intercourse 
and in time naturalization and full recognition of himianity. 
The ignorance and prejudice that now exist on this whole 
subject is a disgrace to America and to our Christianity. 
Sooner or later, we must acknowledge that Asia has been 
the great mother of inventions, art, science and religion 
and as she has always been the teacher of Europe while 
Europe has for the most part but developed and applied, 
so now. "The Orientals" have more to teach us than we can 
possibly teach them. Mutual respect of persons and civi- 
lization and interchange of ideas and products will stimulate 
the evolution of the race towards the perfect man and the 
intimate civihzation. In this work, America which is 
neither in the Orient nor the Occident, should lead the 
world. To the man of science there is no East nor West, 
they being purely expressions for convenience of speech and 
thought. 



THE CITIES OF JAPAN 
By Hon. Harvey N. Shepard 

The entrance of Japan into the family of nations, so that 
membership is confined no longer to people of European 
civilization, but, regardless of historical origin and religious 
preferences, embraces every state able to maintain an effi- 
cient and stable political organization, gives an added interest 
to the institutions of the Island Empire. When travelling 
there we all observe the dress and the manners of its people; 
admire the grandeur of its mountains and the picturesque- 
ness of its valleys, and the beauty of its temples; and we 
know something in a general way of the national govern- 
ment ; but it is not often we learn how the several communi- 
ties are administered locally, although this page of their his- 
tory is by no means lacking in value. 

The local governments are of recent development, and 
are based upon French and Prussian models. It is a curious 
anomaly that the local governments, the codes of law, and 
the educational systems of the Japanese are French or Prus- 
sian, while in commercial undertakings English practice is 
the rule. In exchange, in insurance, and especially in ship- 
ping, the terms in vogue are English, and they sometimes have 
no equivalent in German or Japanese law books. A similar 
discrepancy exists in other departments of social life. While 
the government and the state are largely under German 
forms, the people and society work under English and Ameri- 
can ideas. The British are perhaps the most respected, but 
Americans, I think, are rather more congenial. Naturally 
the people do not love Germans and Russians, as they do 
not forget that Russia and Germany snatched away the 
prize of the war with China. 

' The empire is densely settled. While the United States 
has a population of 28 persons a square mile, and Europe 
101, Japan has 317. Everybody marries, and there is no 
race suicide. 

209 



210 HARVEY N. SHEPARD 

^ Agriculture is the leading industry, and 60 per cent of the 
population find employment in the cultivation of the soil. 
Therefore one reason for solicitude, the density of the popu- 
lation, which is nearly twice that of China, is that not more 
than one-sixth of the soil can be cultivated. The mountains 
are too steep and too sterile; they catch an abundant rain- 
fall, which, however, rushes out untimely, so that nearly 
all the rivers lie in broad and sandy beds, a mile wide at 
flood and a few yards in the dry season. As in China, much 
of the soil has been washed away, and the fields have been 
strewn with stones. 

^ The tendency to city life, with which we are familiar in 
the United States and Europe, has shown itself of late also 
in Japan; and the farmers and other inhabitants of the coun- 
try districts are moving into the cities and towns. In 1896 
only 16 per cent of the population resided in cities and towns 
of over 10,000 inhabitants; now the number is estimated 
at 25 per cent, but the exact figures will not be known till 
1915. 

Up to 1878 the villages, towns, and cities, were mere sub- 
divisions of the forty-three prefectures into which the empire 
is divided; their officials were appointed and were regarded 
as government agents. But in that year both they and the 
prefectures were given elective assemblies. In 1884, how- 
ever, another law was promulgated that the village heads 
again should be chosen by the government, on the ground 
that those elected by the people were not qualified for their 
duties. This was a severe blow to the local government 
system, which was still in its infancy. Fortunately, the 
city, town, and village regulations, published in 1885, to 
further extend 'Hhe old customs of interrelationship between 
the neighbors," and to protect 'Hhe inherent rights of cities, 
towns, and villages," altered the title of the head man of a 
town, or of a village, and made him an elected ofl&cial for a 
term of four years, subject to the approval of the prefect. 
The approval by the prefect has come to be a mere form, 
since a wise prefect, though he is an appointive officer of 
the central government, does not often put himself in opposi- 
tion to public opinion. The head man may or may not be 



THE CITIES OP JAPAN 211 

a professional official and may or may not receive a salary, 
dependent upon the importance of the town or village. 
^ A city government consists of a mayor or shicho, his 
assistants, one to three in proportion to the population, a 
council of six to twelve members, and an assembly. The 
assemblies were authorized in 1884 to nominate three candi- 
dates for mayor and report the nominations to the emperor, 
petitioning him to choose one of them. When these regu- 
lations were about to be put into operation, special regula- 
tions were established for Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka, as 
exceptionally large and prosperous cities; and so in these 
three cities the prefect took the place of the mayor. Subse- 
quently in 1898 the administration of these cities was made 
to conform in the main to that of the other fifty cities. The 
department of home affairs now invariably selects the nomi- 
nee who has received the largest vote in the assembly. The 
assistants and the councilmen are elected by the assembly. 
The mayor and his assistants, who need not be citizens of 
the city when they are chosen, hold office for six years, and 
are paid. One of them convokes the meetings of the council 
and is its chairman. The councilmen hold office for six years, 
one- third retiring every two years; and their functions 
include the preparation of business for the assembly, attend- 
ance at its meetings, the execution of the decisions of the 
assembly, the administration of the city revenue, and the 
general superintendence of city affairs. In November of 
last year an imperial ordinance made a change in the duties 
of the councils of Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka, which ordi- 
nance I have not seen; but I am told by Dr. W.W. McLaren, 
professor of economics in Keio University, that it deprives 
the council of its administrative functions and leaves it the 
mere ghost of its former self, since now it can do nothing 
except to give advice when consulted by the mayor. 
\ All heads of departments, except the treasurer, who is 
elected for six years by the assembly, on the nomination of 
the council, and all clerks are appointed by the council. 
''The number of such persons shall be determined by the 
assembly. " "The amount of salary to be paid to the shicho, 
to the assistants, and to other salaried officials as well as to 



212 HARVEY N. SHEPARD 

servants, shall be fixed by decisions of the city assembly. " 
In charge of the departments are committees, elected by the 
assembly, and composed of councilmen, assembljonen, and 
citizens at large. "The city assembly shall be competent to 
examine papers and accounts relating to the city affairs and 
to demand reports in order to ascertain whether the manage- 
ment of affairs, the execution of the decisions of the assembly, 
and the collection and the application of the revenue, are 
properly carried out." 

The city assembly is the popular representative body; and 
varies in number, in proportion to the population, from thirty 
to sixty. It is empowered to ''represent the city, and decide 
on all subjects relating to the city affairs." The assembly- 
men hold office for six years, one-third of them retiring every 
two years, are eligible for reelection, and, like the council- 
men, draw no salary, but receive "compensation for the 
actual expenses needed for the discharge of their duties." 
All male citizens may vote for the assemblymen, if they are 
over twentj^-five years of age, have resided in the city two 
years, and have paid one dollar a year in direct national 
taxes. The voters are divided into three classes, according 
to the amount of taxes paid to the city, and each class elects 
one-third of the councilmen. The object of this division, 
as in the similar Prussian system, is to give the highest tax- 
payers a power and a representation greater than they could 
secure by numbers. 

"The elections shall be made by ballots on which shall be 
inscribed the names of those for whom the vote is cast, and, 
after having been safeguarded in a folded paper, shall be 
handed to the chairman by the electors themselves; the 
names of the electors shall not be inscribed." 

"When the electors hand in their ballots, they shall orally 
give their full names and places of residence ; and the chair- 
man after having referred such names and places to the lists 
shall put the ballots unopened into a ballot box. The ballot 
box may not be opened until the polling is closed. " 

"No member of a city assembly may bind himself by the 
direction or request of any of his constituents." It elects 
from its own members its president and his deputy, one of 



THE CITIES OF JAPAN 213 

whom takes the chair except ''when the matter of any ques- 
tion relates personally to him, or to his parents, his brothers, 
his wife, or his children. " In the case of a large city it is 
permissible to divide it into wards each with its own mayor, 
assistants, council, and assembly. This provision is copied 
from Paris where there is a mayor in each ward, and from 
London where there are assemblies in the several districts. 
The local government units are not defined sharply. For 
instance, the Tokyo district, called Tokyo-fu, consists not 
only of the city and its suburbs, but also of twenty-two towns 
and one hundred and fifty-six villages contiguous to the city, 
and of hundreds of small islands, one of which is a thousand 
miles distant. 

The law says: ''A city shall be considered a juristic person 
and shall administer by itself its own affairs;" and it is 
given by general laws a wide grant of power, to do anything, 
within its area, which it may think fit, provided that its 
actions do not conflict with any national law and are not 
contrary to the public good, and also provided that the con- 
sent of the higher authorities be obtained for certain proj- 
ects. This method of bestowing wide powers upon local 
authorities is borrowed from continental European countries, 
and undoubtedly it has many advantages when compared 
with the Massachusetts habit of bestowing only specific 
powers. It precludes the necessity of frequent petitions to 
the legislature, and the waste of a great deal of time and 
money to obtain for local authorities necessary powers. 
\ The most important function of the assembly is to con- 
sider and vote the budget. This must include, among other 
things, suitable provision for the common school education 
of all the children for six years between the ages of six and ^ 
fourteen. The imperial rescript enjoins that ''education/ 
shall be so diffused that there may not be a village with an f 
ignorant family, nor a family with an ignorant member." 
The number, therefore, of children in the schools is very large. 
In Yokohama, for instance, 89 per cent of the children of 
school age, boys and girls, are enrolled; and in Nagoya 97 
per cent. In Osaka there are 42 public kindergartens with 



214 HARVEY N. SHEPARD 

6500 children, about 37 to each nurse. The official figures 
for the whole empire show that in 1870, 15 per cent of the 
girls of school age, and 40 per cent of the boys, were in school; 
but that in 1908, 95 per cent of all the children, boys and 
girls, were enrolled; and in some towns every child was upon 
the books. 

\ Wandering about in Shizuoka I came to a boys' school; 
and it was interesting to see how in its furniture it conforms 
to our ideas. At home these boys have no chairs, but squat 
upon the floor. Here they had chairs and desks. The army 
surgeons have shown that the squatting position of the Jap- 
anese is the occasion of the shortness of their legs, which are 
out of proportion to the remainder of the body. The intro- 
duction of chairs and tables is intended, among other things, 
to alter this defect. Another illustration of thorough care 
is found in the fact that, before a schoolhouse is built, the 
site is examined to see if there is adequate space for play- 
grounds, and if there is a sufficient supply of good water. 
School books are printed in clear type, with standard spaces 
between the words and lines, to check the strain upon the 
eyes. The schools, moreover, have school physicians, to 
look after the general health and the sanitary conditions in 
their respective schools, and to make physical examinations 
of the pupils at fixed intervals. 

I While Japan is careful of the well being of its children with 
the one hand, with the other hand it is doing them a lasting 
injury. On account of their low wages, and also because 
they are less troublesome to manage than men, there is a 
big demand for them in the factories. But to attend school, 
and in addition to work in the factories, especially at night, 
inevitably lowers the standard of these little workers, and 
threatens a general deterioration of the nation. It is the 
children, whose tiny fingers paste match boxes, and put on 
the labels. A brush manufacturer of Osaka sends brushes 
to a thousand homes in country districts, in order that the 
bristles may be fastened into them by childish hands, prac- 
tically the manipulation and straightening of each bristle in 
a tooth or hair brush. The most nimble of these industrious 



THE CITIES OF JAPAN 215 

little workers receive only 2 to 4 cents a day. The latest 
official figures, those of 1910, show over 40,000 children, 
under fourteen years of age, in factories and shops. 
V^ Thousands of young girls contract to live for three years 
in a compound, like so may peas in a pod and to work in 
the mills twelve hours a day one week, and twelve hours 
a night the next, at 10 cents a day, and on Sundays also. 
Some compounds are very bad. The places where food is 
served are mere sheds, with leaking roofs and gaping walls, 
and pools of water accumulate on the earthen floors. The 
seats are 4-inch bare boards, and the tables two 10-inch 
boards nailed together. The sleeping quarters are a trifle 
better, and the floors are covered with matting; but the girls 
sleep in rows, fifty, or even a hundred, in a room. Another 
sad feature in Japan is the employment of a million or more 
of bright and healthy men, capable of receiving an industrial 
education, in the performance of tasks which are delegated 
elsewhere to horses and mechanical traction. 
\ A change is at hand. Many owners now make their 
factories homelike. A cotton mill in Osaka, which employs 
twelve hundred people, provides a hospital, with professional 
nurses and a physician in constant attendance. All the 
employees have one meal of excellent quality, each day, in 
a large and comfortable dining room. Also there is a large 
amusement room and lecture hall in which entertainments 
are given. Schools, libraries, bath rooms, recreation grounds, 
and flower gardens, are furnished in other factories; and 
facilities for saving and other methods of mutual help are 
provided. Some owners entertain their workers with pic- 
nics, and theatrical performances. These, however, are the 
exceptions. The great change will come from the factory 
act, recently passed by parliament, although it does not 
become operative for five years, in order that there may be 
no sudden dislocation of industry. Children under twelve 
then cannot be employed at all, and children under fifteen, 
and women, cannot work more than twelve hours. 
' There are many evidences of growing wealth. The sav- 
ings bank deposits in Nagoya, for instance, have increased 
in ten years six fold, and the postoffice savings deposits have 



216 HARVEY N. SHEPARD 

increased twenty-five fold. The revenue of the city in the 
same period has increased three fold, and the expenditures in 
the same proportion. There is municipal progress in all 
portions of the empire. Old cities have taken new life, and 
new cities have come into existence. Public works of great 
magnitude, such as waterworks, sewerage systems, harbors, 
new streets, parks, and public buildings, have been under- 
taken. Thousands of houses have been destroyed to make 
straight and graded streets, from 60 to 100 feet in width, 
with good sidewalks, where formerly sidewalks were unknown. 
Sanitation and hygiene, including surgical and medical treat- 
ment for the poor, have not been neglected; for the Japanese 
are quite abreast of the times in these things, and in the con- 
trol of epidemic or contagious diseases. Gas and electric light- 
ing plants have been established, and excellent systems of 
electric tramwaj^s. Many of the streets are lighted at night, 
the more important with electric lighting. There are several 
new theaters, which are quite European in appearance, 
though behind the curtain all generally is still Japanese. 
But western plays are not infrequent, especially in Tokyo, 
where recently Hamlet, translated into Japanese, was the 
attraction. It also is significant that, while you cannot find 
a European who likes Japanese music, hundreds of Japanese 
enjoy Beethoven and Wagner. There are many excellent 
newspapers, and several of them are in English, although 
they are edited by Japanese. Quite a number have a large 
circulation; but, unfortunately, they are not free from the 
defects which characterize so many of our own newspapers. 
I cannot recall being solicited once by a beggar in any 
highway or other public place; and, v/hile this probably is 
not due to the absence of poverty, but in part to an energetic 
police, and in part to improved public charities, a consider- 
able portion doubtless is due to better social conditions. 
V Whatever may be urged against the morals of Japanese 
traders, and of this matter I heard a great deal, not only 
in Japan, but in every portion of the Far East, though per- 
sonally I came across nothing in the least suspicious, the 
administration of local affairs is honest; and the public 
works have been carried out without a charge of extrava- 



THE CITIES OF JAPAN 217 

gance. One of the commercial complaints against the Jap- 
anese is that they make and sell articles under the trade- 
marks of other nations; travellers have run across such 
articles in Manchuria which had been made by the Japanese 
and which bore English printed trade-marks. But German 
factories are doing this same thing in regard to Japanese 
goods, and articles made in Germany bear Japanese trade- 
marks and signs copied with all the care of German ingenuity. 
Is it the old story of the pot calling the kettle black? 
V Some of the cities, as does Oakland in California, provide 
a fund for the entertainment of visitors and for advertising 
their attractions . Nearly all maintain commercial museums, 
where you may inspect samples of their products, and where 
courteous attendants will give you explanations and prices, 
and tell you where to go to make purchases. At the end of 
1910 there were no fewer than seventy commercial museums 
and exhibitions. By far the most interesting of these com- 
mercial museums is in Kyoto, the old capital. The building 
is well adapted to display the beautiful products of the city; 
and every effort is made, not only to secure for the benefit 
of the public fine examples of early Japanese arts and crafts, 
but also, in order to improve modern manufactures, by com- 
parison with others, the museum collects, and exhibits sam- 
ples of articles produced in other parts of the world. More- 
over, public lectures are given free from time to time under 
the auspices of the museum. The spirit which has prompted 
municipal reform and organization has shown itself also in 
the establishment of chambers of commerce in nearly all 
the important cities. Tokyo and Osaka started these organ- 
izations, and today chambers of commerce are found in 
sixty principal cities. The members present to the authori- 
ties their views concerning the revision of laws and of insti- 
tutions, reply to questions put to them by the authorities, 
act as arbitrators in commercial and industrial conditions, 
publish statistics, and render protection to commerce and 
industry. Nearly every city publishes a yearly statement, 
sometimes in English only, rarely in Japanese only, and gen- 
erally in both languages, giving full information of the munici- 
pal enterprises during the year, the revenues and expenses, 
and school, health and trade statistics. 



218 HARVEY N. SHEPARD 

^ Nagoj^a has developed into a modern industrial city with 
400,000 inhabitants, most of whom seem busy and prosper- 
ous. Its streets have been extended on a spacious scale; and 
along the center of its main thoroughfare, which is 7 miles 
long and 78 feet wide, runs a well equipped electric tramway. 
The shops and workshops are the best built, the largest, and 
the newest looking in Japan, and they are noted for a wonder- 
ful array of signs. Its factories also are well worth visit- 
ing. Corporations, combinations, trusts, and department 
stores, flourish there. 

! The story of the last five years in Osaka is one of continual 
progress and activity. Among many achievements worthy 
of notice are the completion of an extensive system of electric 
tramways; the extension of the water supply; the inaugura- 
tion of a sewage system; the development of a net work 
of suburban electric lines and their connection with the 
municipal tramways; progress in the construction of a com- 
modious harbor; and the improvements of the numerous 
bridges, which are a marked feature. Foreign trade has 
made great strides, and foreign visitors, for business or pleas- 
ure, have increased in numbers. Its merchant fleet now dis- 
plays the flag of the Rising Sun in all parts of the world. 
The rapid growth in the population, no less than 50,000 a 
year during the last four years, has caused extensive building 
operations, the opening of new streets, and the constant 
introduction of new features in administration, and in civic 
enterprise. The streets and canals are thronged with people. 
Now you pass through a long street given over to pottery and 
porcelain; then through one for umbrellas and fans; and 
next through others for cotton fabrics, rugs, brushes, leather 
goods, bronze and metal work, provisions, and clothing. In 
addition to these enterprises, a good deal is done for second- 
ary education, especially for technical schools and colleges. 
There also is a first class municipal library; and there are 
many temples, shrines and Christian churches. Here at 
least we do not find the '^ changeless East." 

Unfortunately Tokyo, the capital, does not present so 
bright a picture. Its streets are poorly made, even the 
important thoroughfares are not paved, the lighting is inade- 
quate, fire protection is furnished by antique appliances, and 



THE CITIES OF JAPAN 219 

the smoke nuisance grows unchecked. Newness and pov- 
erty are no sufficient excuse for these bad conditions, for 
since 1860 the large cities of Europe have demoHshed their 
walls, drained their moats, widened their streets, built new 
avenues, and generally changed their mediaeval aspect by 
taking on a modern appearance and equipment. 

^ Tokyo in June last took over its tramways, at a purchase 
price double the cost of construction. Nevertheless Tokyo 
is not the first city in the world to pay an enormous sum for 
an unexpired franchise, nor is it the first city to begin to 
operate its tramways under a cloud of debt. Many British 
cities have gone through the same experience, and careful 
management generally has worked wonders in a few years. 
Manchester began to operate its tramways with the heavy 
handicap of a large franchise purchase, but in ten years the 
water was squeezed out and the renewal account on the sink- 
ing fund was kept intact. The same may be accomplished 
in Tokyo. Already the service has been improved, and, 
through higher wages and shorter hours, better employees 
have been obtained, who will cooperate with the management, 
for general experience shows that efficient labor, though the 
wages are higher, is always the cheapest. 
. Tokyo and Osaka are about to establish employment 
bureaus, with some financial aid from the national govern- 
ment. The government also has offered to Tokyo a yearly 
subsidy of $5000 for each establishment capable of lodging 
100 vagrants, if it also attempts to improve their mode of 
life. The Tokyo City Asylum for the poor was organized 
in 1872 to shelter beggars and outcasts and to give them 
employment; and, as a first step, 140 poor men and women 
were housed in the mansion of the former Lord of Kaga, now 
the site of the Tokyo Imperial University. The asylum was 
supported at first by the prefecture; but, when the city 
regulations came into force, it passed, and ever since has 
remained, under the superintendence of the municipality. 
Its cleanliness is a pleasing feature. The Japanese are a clean 
«;^eople. The very poorest does not live upon the ground as 
do the Chinese and the Indians; he lives upon a platform, 
raised above the ground. No hardened soil for him, no chilly 



220 HARVEY N. SHEPARD 

pavement of brick or stone; a wooden floor, a piece of clean 
matting, a broom, and a bathtub, the poorest Japanese will 
always have. 

Everywhere, in the universities, the schools, the hospitals, 
the military posts, and the houses, even in the streets, and 
the country I saw from the car window, I was impressed by 
the neatness of it all. There is no rubbish in Japan anywhere. 
The atmosphere is pure, the sky hangs clear above the 
beautiful islands, and crystal streams murmur down the 
green hillsides. Born and brought up under the influence 
of such surroundings cleanliness is instinctive. 

Japan is in many respects the most remarkable country on 
earth, combining all the fascination of an ancient civilization 
with the interest of a vigorous new nation. The intense, 
fiery, patriotism, of which it has given remarkable proof of 
late, and its willingness to borrow, whenever other people's 
institutions seem better than its own, mark it off in the clear- 
est and most emphatic way from every one of its geographic 
neighbors. The abandonment of the old order, at the cost 
of rank, fame, wealth, and even livelihood, for tens of thou- 
sands of its foremost citizens, and the upspringing of a whole 
nation are amazing, and give proof of a widespread, unself- 
ish patriotism, unequalled in history. Aristocracy gave way 
in a day to a constitution and a parliament; feudalism and 
its mediaeval retainers to an European army and navy; 
public schools, both for boys and girls, were established 
throughout the land; and its post, its telegraphs, and its 
railways, equal those of the west; and all this was accom- 
plished, not by the slow growth and gradual development of 
years, but almost at a wave of a magician's wand. For a 
whole people to lay aside what they were born to reverence 
and follow, because alien customs promise a greater good, is 
a spectacle unparalleled. The stigma has been removed 
from trade, the peasant walks free, secure in the possession 
of inviolate civil rights, and, more wonderful yet, women 
have come out of the guarded seclusion of the east, and 
enjoy a social existence and legal equality. May it be a 
bright future which awaits this charming people, who win 
so quickly the admiration, the sympathy, and the affection, 
of the stranger within their gates. 



THE EVOLUTION OF JAPANESE DIPLOMACY 

By Masujiro Honda, Litt.D., editor of the "Oriental Review" 

Diplomacy is of absorbing interest always, for it often 
determines the destiny of a nation, of a continent — even 
of a race. If the result is sometimes unpleasant to one 
party or the other, or to both, this is merely incidental. 
To harm others is not its aim; the true object of this intel- 
lectual, international wrestling being to decide which of 
the parties concerned is the better entitled to the honor, 
and the responsibihty as well, of promoting the welfare of 
mankind by standing for an ideal, for a system, for a form 
of civilization. It is true enough that there are intellectual 
games in which each move is in secret and the purpose of 
which is to befog the opponent as much as possible; but 
there are others which require no concealment of the hands 
or moves, and in which each player seeks only to do his 
best without desiring the ill of others. The medieval, 
military type of diplomacy is represented by the first kind, 
and the second stand for the modern, industrial type. This 
is,' however, a general statement which does not apply 
to many individual cases. The diplomacy to be used with 
Russia, for instance, must necessarily be different from that 
with the United States; nor can the modus operandi applica- 
ble to Germany be successfully adopted in dealing with 
China. The nature of this paper compels occasional allu- 
sion to other nations than Japan, but any such allusion 
is not meant in the spirit of captious criticism, for the diplo- 
matic game requires at least two players. Something of 
what had been accomphshed in the dark between China 
and Russia, Japan inherited in Manchuria in the broad 
dayhght of pubhc gaze; and there is still a great deal left 
unsuspected and unearthed concerning what is taking place 
in Mongoha, Hi and Tibet. 

221 



222 MASUJIRO HONDA 

All this, however, will become more intelligible when 
translated into the terms of American diplomacy. In this 
country of free thought and free speech there are those 
who do not hesitate to prophesy an eventual annexation or 
absorption, economically of course, of Canada or Mexico. 
But both the Washington authorities and the people in 
general have never planned or schemed for such an eventual- 
ity. Only ''geographical gra^dtation," or the ''finger of 
destiny," or "unavoidable circumstance" may thrust upon 
the United States the necessity of taking under American 
protection, not only the next door neighbors of the Union, 
but also some republics on this and the other side of the 
Panama canal. The Monroe doctrine claims to prevent 
other nations from acquiring territory on this continent, 
but it does not purpose to interfere with this country's 
obtaining new possessions either on this continent or else- 
where. Contrast this condition with that in China and 
Japan with their, if unpronounced, still worthy ambition 
of keeping Asia for the Asiatics, keenly awake as they are 
to the fact that the occidental powers are already firmly 
intrenched on the continent of Asia, while the United States 
presses for the territorial integrity of and the open-door in 
China. The two Asiatic powers must be left free to solve 
the problems which concern themselves, but when a question 
arises which concerns the common destiny of both — then 
whether China shall lead Japan or Japan lead China, be- 
comes a consideration of minor importance before the appall- 
ing dilemma whether there shall be an independent Asia 
or not. It is a question for the Asian of hfe or death, for 
one-third of the population of the earth have no other 
continent upon which to settle, except the one that is already 
so thickly populated. Europe is of course for the Europeans ; 
the continent of America is also destined apparently to 
be a land of non-Asiatics. The Asian is also barred from 
Africa, from Austraha and from New Zealand. There is 
no open door for Asiatic immigrants in these countries and 
continents, but there must be free entrance for all mankind 
into Asia. Readjustment and revision of the relations of 
Asia to the rest of the world should be the highest aim of 



THE EVOLUTION OF JAPANESE DIPLOMACY 223 

Japanese and Chinese diplomacy, and this aim can be 
attained only through our gradual rise in national and 
racial efficiency on the one hand; and, on the other, through 
sincere efforts on both sides to understand one another. 
The following sketch of the evolution of Japanese diplomacy 
will, it is hoped, at once illustrate how the international 
dealing of a nation depends for its success on the material 
efficiency and moral vigor of that nation, as well as contrib- 
ute something toward the mutual understanding of the east 
and the west by indicating what foreign policy Japan is 
likely to pursue in the future. 

For the sake of argument, it may be admitted that diplo- 
macy is the practice of maintaining and extending national 
power in international dealings; national power including 
honor, prestige and moral influence as well as material 
interests. Japan's earliest contact with the outer world 
was with Korea, China and India, and from them she ac- 
quired Confucianism, Buddhism and the Asiatic arts and 
sciences, while taking care not to be subject to either their 
political or intellectual domination. In the middle of the 
sixteenth century, the Portuguese began to visit Japan's 
shores, as a sequence to their attempt to extend not only 
their trade but also their rehgious and political influence. 
For about a century, Jesuit missionaries and European 
traders were welcome in Japan; the Japanese themselves 
weie active in sea-faring and engaged in trade with South 
Sea Islanders. As a result of Dutch-Spanish rivalry in 
India and elsewhere, however, Protestant Holland warned 
Japan of the grave danger of falling under the carefully 
concealed pohtical influence of the Catholic nations. Before, 
however, this alarm was sounded, the feudal authorities of 
Japan had already become aware that native converts to 
Christianity and their European teachers were more than 
likely to jeopardize the national integrity of Japan. The 
policy of the closed-door was adopted, native Christians 
were persecuted and Jesuit missionaries banished, only a 
limited number of Dutch and Chinese traders being per- 
mitted to come to a tiny island in the harbor of Nagasaki, 
while the construction of large ocean-going vessels was pro- 



224 MASUJIRO HONDA 

hibited to the Japanese. This policy of seclusion continued 
for two centuries down to 1853, when the flood-gate of 
western civilization was opened through pressure of the 
United States. 

This retrospect suggests a certain speculation. Suppose 
Japan had continued in touch with Catholic Europe in 
spite of the Dutch warning, what would have happened? 
The land of the Rising Sun might have been reduced to the 
position of the Philippines, with more Christianity perhaps, 
but certainly not much of pohtical independence left. 
What would have become of China, if Japan had been lost to 
Europe, say in the seventeenth century? When a Catholic 
monarchy was again pressing hard on Japan from the north, 
a Protestant repubUc came to our rescue from the western 
hemisphere as the same power later rescued the Philippines 
from Catholic domination. Suppose a diplomatic miracle 
should happen to Japan now, so that she would be guaran- 
teed the undisturbed safety of the present position without 
spending a penny on army and navy, with what eagerness 
and determination the entire population of Japan would 
devote themselves to a higher attainment of all the arts of 
peace and lend their moral and financial support to the 
four hundred millions of their neighbors now strugghng for 
a better government. Is this not practically what America 
and England did in Japan's conflict with the northern power? 

From these and other endless reveries we must return to 
actuahties to bring this paper within the required limits. 

Early in the last century, Europe's attention began to 
turn from the Mediterranean and western Asia to the Far 
East. England's strong position in India necessitated the 
opium war which marked the beginning of territorial aggres- 
sion on China in 1842. Russia, on the other hand, had 
become a Pacific power as early as the seventeenth century 
through the possession of the Amur region, and, when she 
proclaimed her ownership of Kamtchatka in 1707, Japan 
came in direct contact with her. The Island of Ezo, the 
Kurile group and Saghahen were frequented by Russians, 
and begun to be absorbed by them. In 1861, several years 
after the conclusion of the first Russo-Japanese treaty of 



THE EVOLUTION OF JAPANESE DIPLOMACY 225 

amity and trade, Russia occupied the island of Tsushima 
as a coaUng station and it took half a year before she was 
persuaded to evacuate the place, through the joint-protest 
of the British minister at Yedo and the commander of the 
British East Asian Squadron. After the Restoration, in 
1872, Japan offered to buy the Russian portion of Saghalien 
for a sum of 2,000,000 yen, but, instead, a nominal exchange 
of Saghalien with the Kurile Islands was eventually effected 
three years later. 

' Thus, the Dutch-British rivalry, which was partly respon- 
sible for Japan's refusal to trade with the English in the 
seventeenth century, gave place to the Russo-British com- 
petition for power in Asia in the nineteenth century. Except- 
ing the fact that an EngUsh captain hoisted the Union 
Jack upon the Bonin Islands, situated on the sea-route from 
North America to south China, Great Britain had not 
affected Japan pohtically, because she was too busy with 
the opening up of China and planting her commercial inter- 
ests there. This same group of islands above mentioned 
was subsequently claimed as an American possession, but 
the moderation of the United States government brought 
the controversy to a happy termination in 1875, when 
finally it recognized Japan's claim to its possession. Com- 
modore Perry's idea of occupying a Japanese island, however, 
was not suggested by any motive directly antagonistic to 
Japan. The wonderful development of the Pacific states 
of this country and the discovery of California gold in 1848 
compelled the United States to turn her attention to the 
Pacific trade, and it was most providential that Japan was 
introduced to the comity of nations by a peaceful and gener- 
ous friend across the ocean. The vascilating weak foreign 
poHcy lent a suitable pretext for arousing the whole nation 
into a patriotic revolt against the feudal authorities, resulting 
in the restoration of full power to the emperor in 1868. 
Long before Japan's door was opened to western nations, 
France had warned, through a missionary on the spot, of 
British designs on the Loochoo Islands and told the islanders 
that the only way of escape was to treat with France to 
check Great Britain. The feudal government of Japan, 



226 MASUJIRO HONDA 

therefore, trained its soldiers after the French model, France 
being considered the strongest military power of the day. 
This marked the beginning of Japanese diplomacy being 
influenced by Franco-British rivalry in European politics. 
In the time of our revolutionary trouble, France naturally 
sympathized with the old regime, while England supported 
the strong clans espousing the imperial cause. In conse- 
quence, therefore, when the new government came into 
existence, the British minister, Sir Harry Parks, exerted 
great influence over the men whose political aims England 
had secretly furthered. It is indeed a matter for thank- 
fulness that he did not take undue advantage of his position 
to endanger the temtorial integrity of Japan. 

The imperial government organized the foreign office as 
an independent department in 1869, but its work could not 
but be negative or defensive in nature, as was the case with 
our diplomacy under the feudal regime, its sole aim and 
efi"ort being to endeavor to lose as Uttle as possible of our 
material possessions and to maintain our national dignity, 
as best as we could. In 1871, when a newly appointed 
British charg6 d'affaires arrived in Tokio, he desired that 
the emperor receive him in audience according to occidental 
etiquette, which demand was firaily rejected by the Japanese 
government as infringing upon international courtesy. 
When, however, the Russian minister requested an imperial 
audience, declaring that he would conform to any recognized 
rules of politeness adopted by the court, the emperor at 
once received him in European fashion. In the following 
year, 1872, a Peruvian steamer, with 230 Chinese laborers 
on board, anchored in Yokohama, whereupon the British 
representative heretofore mentioned, intimated to the Japan- 
ese foreign office that these Chinese coolies, being actual 
slaves, should be sent back to their own country. This 
advice was at once acted upon, although it is worth noting 
that certain of the cabinet members of the time opposed 
this emancipation lest it might lead to international compli- 
cations, while the French minister at Tokio ridiculed the 
idea of Japan standing for humanity, and the United States 
minister also suggested the wisdom of non-interference in 



THE EVOLUTION OF JAPANESE DIPLOMACY 227 

the matter on the part of the Japanese authorities. In 
spite of all opposition and every possible obstacle, however, 
the governor of Kanagawa was instructed to seize the Peru- 
vian vessel and send back the slaves to China. The govern- 
ment of Peru, on hearing of this incident, despatched an 
envoy to Japan to protest against it. The matter was 
finally referred to the arbitration of the Czar of Russia, 
whose award was entirely in favor of Japan. This created 
a new precedent in international law. 

Some Loochoo islanders, stranded on the island of For- 
mosa, were massacred by the aborigines in 1872, and in the 
following year a special envoy was despatched to Peking 
to demand satisfaction. The Chinese authorities claimed 
that the Loochuans were also Chinese subjects and that the 
Formosan savages were beyond the power of Chinese control. 
Seeing that nothing could be accomplished through diplo- 
matic negotiations, the Japanese government in 1874 sent 
an armed expedition to chastise the Formosans. The Peking 
government resented this as an infringement on China's 
territorial rights; and the Japanese ambassador retorted 
that China having acknowledged her inability to punish 
these offenders, the Formosans, if left unchastised, would 
commit similar outrages so giving an excuse to some occi- 
dental power to annex Formosa, so that Japan's successful 
expedition was in effect practically in common defense of 
both China and Japan. China at length consented to pay 
an indemnity to Japan, acknowledging the latter' s sover- 
eignty over Loochoo, and admitting, also, that she was 
responsible for the acts of the Formosan aborigines. In 
1879, however, when General Grant visited the Far East, 
the Chinese government applied to the ex-president for 
mediation because it was not satisfied with the way in 
which the Loochoo question had been settled. Eventually 
however, the two islands of Miyako and Yaeyama were 
ceded to China to remove any ill-feehng between the neigh- 
boring nations, who ought to be, as General Grant put it, 
cooperating in warm friendship against western aggression. 
\ The so-called exchange of Saghahen for the Kurile group 
of islands was effected in 1874 after a prolonged and vexa- 



228 MASUJIRO HONDA 

tious negotiation with Russia. In fact the Russian descent 
upon northern Japan was a question that troubled the 
minds of the Japanese both under the feudal and imperial 
regime, and Japan was glad enough to agree to this sham 
exchange, a sham because she beheved in her right to claim 
both, in preference to the perpetual menace to her territorial 
integrity. 

The revision of the unilateral, unequal treaties made with 
the European and American powers occupied the zealous 
attention of Japanese diplomatists for more than twenty 
years, that is between 1871-1894, the main contention being 
the removal of extraterritorial consular jurisdiction and of 
a clause which deprived Japan of tariff autonomy, both 
imposed upon her through the inexperience of more or less 
impotent officials in the early days of her renewed inter- 
course with the Occident. To this end, various diplomatic 
methods were tried in quick succession with the hope of 
impressing the western peoples with the fact that the Japan- 
ese were worthy of being considered as equals. At one 
time the adoption of the Roman alphabet was advocated 
by some as the simplest and so the best method of writing 
the Japanese language. An improvement of the Japanese 
physique and stature was suggested as likely to come as 
the result of mixed marriages with the Caucasian race. 
European dress and dancing were encouraged in official 
circles and elsewhere. All these measures, however, did 
not influence the attitude of the treaty powers, but merely 
fanned into a flame the conservative and reactionary senti- 
ment of the people. Men were exiled from the capital or 
the country, but the idea of Japan for the Japanese grew 
stronger and stronger, until finally one minister of foreign 
affairs, who endeavored to secure a treaty revision through 
agreeing to place occidental judges in Japanese courts of law, 
was attacked by a fanatical patriot with a bomb and had to 
sacrifice his portfoHo as well as a leg. At another period, 
a rigorous enforcement of treaty terms to the letter was 
tried, so that foreigners in Japan would reahze the need of 
a revised bi-lateral treaty. This scheme also failed, because 
the foreigners merely complained of personal inconvenience, 



THE EVOLUTION OF JAPANESE DIPLOMACY 229 

while some indiscreet patriots went to the extent of insulting 
occidental residents in the country, A complete codifica- 
tion of laws, incorporating the best principles and usages of 
Europe and America, was accomplished in due time, and the 
first session of the imperial diet assembled in 1890 in accord- 
ance with the provisions of the constitution. As a finishing 
touch, as it were, to all these laborious preparations, the 
justice and success of the China- Japanese war of 1894-1895 
accelerated the work of treaty revision, so that Japan has 
since been on the footing of legal equality with the great 
nations of the world. 

\ With the Chinese war in 1894-1895 Japan entered her 
second stage of diplomatic experience, the stage in which an 
active self-assertion of her conscious power became the 
dominant note. It was, in one sense, a conflict of modern- 
ism and medievalism, because Japan wished to keep Korea 
independent and progressive as a buffer state between the 
two Asiatic powers, while China insisted upon her patronage 
of a conservative and subservient Korea. Diplomatically 
speaking, however, Japan's victory in arms ended in a 
signal defeat on the field of the political game, a triple 
combination of European powers stepping in and wresting 
from her a substantial portion of her acquisition from China. 
One blunder begot another. In the consternation of this 
diplomatic humiliation, Japan failed to think of restoring 
the Liaotung Peninsula on the explicit condition that China 
would never cede or lease her territory to any outside power, 
which alone would have obviated the necessity of fighting 
Russia ten years later. Through her victory in arms, Japan 
vindicated her claim to respect as an Asiatic power, and also 
testified to the superiority of occidental methods over ori- 
ental systems. Through her failure in diplomacy, Japan 
realized the need of political allies and friends in Europe and 
America, for after all Asia was not strong enough to be 
independent of European politics and the European balance 
of power. The triple intervention aforesaid claimed that 
Japan's possession of any part of continental Chinese terri- 
tory was inimical to the peace of the Far East. Notwith- 
standing all this, one of the parties soon began to exact 



230 MASUJIRO HONDA 

from China material remuneration for ousting Japan, and 
proposed, amongst other things, an occupation of that very 
part of China whose ownership by Japan was represented 
to be subversive of peace and order in Asia. Another of 
the triangular league later "leased" another part of China 
for ninety-nine years for the murder of one or two mission- 
aries. The deletion of European politics from Korea and 
Manchuria became an absolute and alarming necessity for 
the independence and integrity of Japan herself. With 
England as her ally, and the United States as her moral 
supporter, and with almost universal European and Ameri- 
can sympathy, enabling her to raise war funds abroad, 
Japanese forces were victorious both on land and sea, but — 
Japanese diplomacy was again outwitted by its adversary 
over the chess board at Portsmouth, all this largely because 
Japan neglected to interest the press of the world in her 
cause and claims, while the Russian side of the story was 
ably, tactfully and appeahngly presented to more than 
one hundred journahsts of all nationalities. Newspaper 
men exist on the reporting or "making" of news. It is 
no cause for wonder therefore that they should have shown 
scant affection for the country which gave them, through 
its representatives — nothing. Russian diplomacy was par- 
ticularly successful in so pleading its case to the American 
government, through its chief executive, and to the American 
public, through the press, as to arouse the vague but none 
the less disquieting fear that Japan might one day occupy 
both the Russian and Chinese coast of the Asiatic Pacific, 
and next descend upon the Phihppines, Guam, Hawaii, and 
finally upon the Pacific slope of this western continent. 
This to our view was the true inception of the rumors of 
a pending conflict between the United States and Japan; 
disaffected journalists, labor leaders, big-army-and-navy- 
ists, better-national-defense-men, and even temperance ora- 
tors invoking the name of Japan as scapegoat. 

Pohtical alhances, ententes and conventions, coupled with 
an intelhgent interest and sympathetic attitude of the press, 
important and essential as they are to diplomatic success, 
must necessarily lead up to the higher stage of development 



THE EVOLUTION OF JAPANESE DIPLOMACY 231- 

into which Japan is just entering; and this final culmination 
of diplomatic effort is nothing more or less than an assiduous 
cultivation of a mutual understanding by the masses, over 
and above the governments and the press, of the needs and 
necessities of each country, bound together with others in 
the bond of commerce and friendship. Through the immi- 
gration question, through the recent revision of Japan's 
treaties with the United States and with the European 
powers, through the boycotting of Japanese goods by Chin- 
ese, through Japan's negotiations with Russia to facihtate 
railway connections between the Japanese and Russian 
sections of the Manchurian Railway, as well as through the 
altering of the terms of the Anglo-Japanese alliance to make 
the Anglo-American treaty for general arbitration easier 
of accomphshment — all these varied experiences have driven 
home to Japanese diplomacy that most important lesson — 
that it is not by ''saving one's face," in an abstract way, 
not by territorial acquisition and expansion, both of which 
have only resulted in inspiring the rest of the world with 
an altogether exaggerated sense of Japanese pride and 
ambition, but that it is only when backed by industrial 
and commercial expansion and prosperity that a nation can 
maintain and extend its moral and material influence in 
its foreign relations; and that national wealth can be in- 
creased only by making friends, sometimes rivals if necessary, 
with manufacturers, sellers and buyers of different nation- 
alities, not certainly by frightening or fighting them. Some 
people may contemptuously call this ''dollar diplomacy," 
but "dollar diplomacy" is nothing but the democratic, 
industrial, honest, peaceful, twentieth century type of diplo- 
macy, in contradistinction to the bureaucratic, military, 
underhanded, belligerent, medieval type of diplomacy which 
must be relegated to the hmbo of the benighted. 
V It may throw a side Ught on our main thesis, if we add 
here a phase of our diplomatic service. Aside from foreign 
advisers to the various departments of the imperial govern- 
ment (one of whom we still retain and treasure in the foreign 
oflBice) Japan has been represented abroad entirely by her 
own diplomats from the very beginning. Naturally, trained 



232 MASUJIRO HONDA 

and experienced diplomats were few if any, at first, At one 
time, old nobles were made ministers and ambassadors to 
utilize the glitter of their gold and rank for impressing 
foreign nations with the importance of the country they 
represented. They failed in most cases, however, to enhance 
Japan's prestige abroad, because their wealth or rank was 
poverty or obscurity in the great countries of Europe and 
America. At another time ability was the only standard 
for our diplomatic officials, so some of them could do nothing 
but study books and newspapers in their legation offices, 
not having money enough to shine in society. At present 
all diplomatic and consular agents have to pass special 
examinations and begin their career from the lowest post, 
the system thus endeavoring to combine ability and experi- 
ence. When a bright diplomat happens to have money of 
his own he is likely to be most successful in a foreign capital. 
A Japanese diplomat with a foreign wife is still a problem. 
Our practice of transferring diplomats from one country 
to another in two or three years is open to criticism; it has 
advantages and disadvantages of its own. One good sign 
at home, however, is a tendency to detach the foreign policy 
of the government from party dispute, the continuity of 
purpose and unity in methods being thus assured, without 
occasional disturbance from politicians who lack in expert 
knowledge and experience. The foreign office at Tokio, 
moreover, was more or less under the influence of the army 
and navy departments until quite recently, because, in 
matters relating to national independence and self-defense 
mihtary and strategical considerations had often to precede 
or accompany diplomatic proceedings. Now that Japan's 
pohtical status in the world is perhaps secure, our diplomacy 
is more directly representative of the economic interests 
of the people. 

With regard to the further working of this industrial 
stage of Japanese diplomacy, we may better quote an English 
author as a fit conclusion of this paper, instead of venturing 
upon a risky attempt at prophesy: 



THE EVOLUTION OF JAPANESE DIPLOMACY 233 

"^ Everything in fact tends to show that within a comparatively 
short space of time Japan will have asserted her position, not only 
as a great world power, but as a great commercial nation in the 
Pacific. What is to be the outcome of it all, is the question that 
will naturally arise to the mind. I think that one outcome of 
it will be, as I have shown, the capture by Japan of the Chinese 
trade, if not in its entirety, at any rate in a very large degree. 
Another outcome will, I believe, be the enormous development 
of Japanese trade with both the United States and Canada. Some 
people may remark that these are not essentially political matters, 
and that I am somewhat wandering from my point in treating 
of them in connection with the influence of Japan upon the world 
generally. I do not think so. A nation may assert its influence 
and! emphasize its importance to just as great an extent by its 
trade as by the double-dealings of diplomacy or by other equally 
questionable methods. Of one thing I am convinced, and that 
is that the influence of Japan upon the rest of the world will be a 
singularly healthy one. That country has fortunately struck 
out for itself, in diplomacy as in other matters, a new line. It has 
not behind it any traditions, nor before it prejudices wherewith to 
impede its progress. The diplomacy of Japan will, accordingly, 
be conducted in a straight-forward manner, and its record so far 
in this respect has, I think, provided a splendid object-lesson for 
the rest of the world. The influence of Japan upon other nations 
will I hope as I believe, continue to be a healthy one. If that 
country sets forth prominently the fact that while aspiring to be 
great, it possesses none of those attributes of greed, covetousness, 
aggressiveness, and overbearing — an arrogant attitude in regard 
to weaker powers, it will have performed a notable service in the 
history of the world. For myself I have no doubt whatever that 
Japan will teach this lesson, and in teaching it will have justified 
the great place that she has attained among the nations of the 
earth. — The Empire of the East, by H. B. Montgomery, 1909. 



JAPAN AS A COLONIZER 
By Inazo Nitohe, Ph.D. 

President of the First National College, and Professor in 

the Imperial University, Tokyo, formerly Director of the 

Bureau of Industries in the Government of Formosa 

With the acquisition of the small island of Formosa in 1895, 
Japan joined the ranks of colonial powers. Since then she 
has had the island of Saghalien by the treaty of Portsmouth 
in 1905 and Korea by annexation last year. Besides these 
territories she has also in her possession the small province 
of Kwang-tung in the Liao Tung peninsula; and a long, 
narrow strip of land along the Manchurian railroad, the 
last two being leased from the Chinese. 

In recounting what Japan has done as a colonizer I shall 
for several reasons devote my time to a review of what Japan 
has achieved in Formosa. First, because it was the first colony 
and as such served the purpose of colonial education for us. 
Second, because it may be called the only colony with which we 
have had any experience worth speaking about. The other 
colonies and possessions are so new to us that whatever 
poUcy we may have formed for them has not yet borne any 
fruit. And thirdly, because the administration of this island 
of Formosa forms a precedent for the government of later 
acquisitions; and also because you can infer from a descrip- 
tion of our pohcy in Formosa what we shall do with other 
possessions and colonies. To these three reasons there is 
an appendix to be added — namely, because I can speak of 
this colony from a long and personal connection with it, 
and to me the last is the strongest and the best reason. 

Now Formosa, or more properly, Tai-wan (since Formosa 
is not a Chinese nor a Japanese name, being a Portuguese 
appellation), was ceded to us at the termination of theChino- 

234 



JAPAN AS A COLONIZER 235 

Japanese war. When accession from China was proposed 
by Japan, we were not at all sure that the suggestion would 
be complied with by the authorities. But the Chinese 
plenipotentiary, Li Hung Chang, took up the proposition 
as though it were wise on the part of his country to be freed 
from an incumbrance, and even commiserated Japan for 
acquiring it. He pointed out that the island was not amen- 
able to good government, that brigandage could never be 
exterminated there, that the presence of head hunting tribes 
was always a menace to social order, and that the climate was 
not salubrious, and also that the opium habit among the 
people was widely spread and extreme. The island, some- 
what like Sicily, had, in the course of its history, been sub- 
ject to the flags of various nations; Holland, Spain and 
China ruled it at different times, and at one time Japanese 
pirates had practically usurped supreme power over it. 
At another time the French flag floated on its shores. Such 
an instability in government is enough to demoralize any 
people; but among the people themselves there were ele- 
ments which put law and order to naught. 

The indigenous population consists of head-hunters of 
Malay descent, who live in small communities in a very low 
grade of culture. The only art with which they are ac- 
quainted is agriculture, and that in a very primitive style 
— ^what the Germans name Spatencultur, not agriculture 
proper but rather what Mr. Morgan, if I remember rightly, 
in his Primitive Society calls a primitive form of horticulture. 
They have no ploughs; they have no draft animals; this hor- 
ticulture is all that they know. But these people are very 
cleanly in their habits. This may be due to their Malay 
instinct of frequent bathing; and they keep their cottages 
perfectly clean, unlike other savages of a similar grade of 
culture. The main part of the population, however, con- 
sists of Chinese who have come from the continent and 
settled in Formosa. They came chiefly from the opposite 
shores, the province of Fukien and from the city and sur- 
roundings of Canton. It seems that the Chinese emigrants 
could not perpetuate their famihes in their new home for 
any number of generations, succumbing as they did to the 



236 INAZO NITOBE 

direct and indirect effects of malaria, and hence the Chinese 
population proper was constantly replenished by new arri- 
vals from the main land. The aborigines or savages liv- 
ing a primitive life, constantly driven into the forest regions 
and high altitudes, did not increase in numbers; so when 
Japan assumed authority in this island she found few con- 
ditions that bespoke a hopeful outlook. The Chinese, repre- 
senting two branches of their race totally different in char- 
acter and in their dialects — their dialect being unintelligible 
one to the other — occupied the coast and the plains and were 
chiefly engaged in agricultural pursuits. They had a few 
fortified cities and towns among them; Tainan and Taihoku, 
with a population of about 40,000 were the most important. 

The peaceful Chinese inhabitants were constantly exposed to 
depredations of the brigands. In fact, a great many villages, 
besides paying taxes to the government, had to make regular 
but secret tribute to the brigand for immunity from spolia- 
tion. But this is nothing peculiar to Formosa. Whenlwasin 
Manchuria I found just the same thing there. Perhaps my 
friend. Professor lyenaga, described to you in his speech 
this morning the brigandage in Manchuria. When I was 
there a few years ago I found that the mounted bandits 
often threatened the caravans which carried merchandise 
and silver ingots. The government could do nothing with 
them and so the caravans formed a kind of league, a kind 
of guild; and then the brigands also formed a kind of guild, 
and both the caravan guild and the brigand guild would 
send their representatives to meet somewhere; and the cara- 
van representative would offer to pay something and say, 
''Now, we will pay you so many thousands of dollars a year, 
if you promise to spare our caravans," and the brigands 
would say, "All right. If you carry such and such a flag 
we will not attack your caravans, but we will attack other 
caravans that do not pay us." Thus without any action 
on the part of the government there is peace procured 
between the brigands and the caravans. 

It is the same with the beggars; in Mukden I saw a num- 
ber of wretched looking creatures begging from house to 
house. These paupers form a very strong body; they have 



JAPAN AS A COLONIZER 237 

a delegate of their own. A number of them will stand in 
front of a store and of course no one will go into such a store 
guarded by beggars, and that store loses trade. So a num- 
ber of these stores get together, form a guild and send a dele- 
gate to the guild of the beggars and say/ 'Please don't stand 
in front of our stores." Between them the two delegates 
settle the matter for a certain sum of money. So it was with 
these Formosans, in their dealings with the bandits. They 
paid tribute, so many dollars or so many head of cattle a 
year. Still the agriculturists who had their farms away 
from the villages, even though they were free from brigand- 
age, were exposed to the attacks of head-hunters who would 
steal unawares from their haunts among the mountains to 
shoot anybody. I must make a digression and state that 
these head-hunters are very partial to Chinese heads; they 
say that they are easier to cut, being shaved in the back. 
Well, these head-hunters had a custom among them accord- 
ing to which young men must secure some head as a trophy 
without which they could not obtain recognition for bravery 
or celebrate any feast among their tribes. Hence the For- 
mosan people had never known the meaning of a quiet, 
peaceful society or of a stable government. They had 
never known the security of property or of life. Successive 
administrations had, none of them, been able to assure them 
of these elementary duties of government. With a people 
brought up under these circumstances, patriotism was a 
thing entirely unknown. 

\ In accordance with the stipulation of the treaty of Shi- 
monoseki, one of our generals. Count Kabayama, was dis- 
patched as governor-general of Formosa. In that capacity 
he was about to land at the island with a large army; when 
he was met by the Chinese plenipotentiary at the port of 
Kelung, and in an interview which took place on board of 
the steamer Yokohama Maru, the 17th of April, 1895, it 
was arranged that a landing should be effected without 
opposition. This marked the first landing of our troops since 
the acquisition of the island of Formosa by the Japanese. 
There were at that time some Imperial Chinese soldiers still 
remaining on the island, but on hearing of its cession to 



238 INAZO NITOBE 

Japan they were required to disarm and leave the country. 
Manj^ did so, but a few remained to oppose our army; and 
then also there were a few patriots who did not feel ready to 
accept our terms, not ready to accept an alien rule — and 
these either left the island or took up arms against us. 

Since there was now no government, some of the so-called 
patriots proclaimed a republic, one of the very few republics, 
(I say one of the very few because this is not the only case 
— we had a similar instance in Japan), that were started in 
Asia. Mr. Tang was elected president and the republic of 
Formosa lasted three or four months, leaving behind nothing 
but some post-stamps valuable for collectors. At this time 
the professional brigands took this opportunity of general 
disturbance to ply their trade. I dare say the peaceful 
inhabitants of the island suffered more from the hands of 
their own countrymen, that is, largely from Chinese troops 
and brigands, than they did from us. Evidence of this lies 
in the fact that several towns received our army with open 
arms as a deliverer from robbery and slaughter. 

Though the island was pacified no one knew what was to 
happen next. We did not understand the character of the 
people. Very few Japanese could speak Formosan and 
fewer Formosans could speak Japanese. There was natur- 
ally mutual distrust and suspicion. The bandits abounded 
everywhere. Under these conditions military rule was the 
only form of government that could be adopted until better 
assurance could be obtained of the disposition of the people. 
For this purpose it was calculated that some ten million yen, 
I may say five milhon dollars, was yearly needed for the paci- 
fication and government of Formosa. Out of this necessary 
sum only three million yen could be obtained by taxation, 
according to the old regime. The balance had to be defrayed 
by the central, that is by the Japanese, government. Now 
an annual expenditure of six or seven million yen in those 
years, to be spent in an island away from home, with no 
immediate prospect of return, was by no means an easy 
task for the rather limited finance of Japan. You know how 
land values are rising everywhere. Even in Africa, England 
had to pay very much more than she had expected in getting 



JAPAN AS A COLONIZER 239 

land in the south; and I think Italy has by this time found 
Tripoli rather more expensive than she had calulated at 
first. A colony that looks at a distance like the goose that 
lays the golden egg, on nearer approach and especially 
when you have to pay the bills, often proves to be a white 
elephant. So with us impatient people who had expected 
great things and great benefits to come from Formosa, 
began to call for more frugahty and some of the very best 
publicists went even so far as to propose that the island of 
Formosa should be sold back to China or even to some other 
power. In the course of some thirty months, two years and 
a half, no less than three times were governors changed. 

The first governor general was Count Kabayama, known 
as a hero of the Chino- Japanese war; the second was no less 
a man than Prince Katsura, now of some international fame 
as the prime minister of Japan for many years; and the third 
was General Nogi. Finding that the country could ill afford 
such a luxury as a colony, the parliament of Japan cut down 
its subsidy of six or seven million yen from the national 
treasury by about one-third, thus reducing the subsidy from 
six or seven milhon to only four million. Now who would 
accept a position held by a man as Nogi, but now reduced 
financially to two-thirds of its former prestige and power? 
Only a man of unbounded resources, of keen perception and 
quick decision, not a second or a third-rate man, would 
accept such a place; and Japan is forever to be congratulated 
on finding the right man at the right time for the right place, 
Viscount Kodama, who, as amember of the General Staff, had 
made a study of the Formosan problem and was ready to accept 
the governorship and to see if he could put to rights the bank- 
rupt housekeeping of the colony. I am afraid that the name 
so well known among us is perhaps very much less known in 
this country. Kodama is a name which is cherished by 
our people with love and respect. Perhaps you can best 
remember his name if I tell you that he was the real brains ( 
of the Kusso-Japanese war. It was he who actually directed 
the whole Japanese army in the war with Russia. 
>^ In accepting the governorship of Formosa he was particu- 
larly fortunate in the selection of his lieutenant, his assist- 



240 INAZO NITOBE 

ant, the civil governor; he made the discovery, as he called 
it, of a man who proved himself his right hand, and who 
actually came far above his most sanguine expectations. 
I mean Baron Goto, one of the rising statesmen of modern 
Japan. Baron Goto in the last cabinet held the position of 
Minister of Communications and was President of the 
Railway Board. Until Baron Goto was made civil governor 
of Formosa under Kodama he had been known as an expert 
on hygiene, having been a medical doctor. The advent of 
these two men in Formosa marked a new era in our colonial 
administration. Upon entering their new post of duty early 
in 1898, the first thing they did was the practical suspension 
of military rule; at least it was made subservient to civil 
administration. Military rule is apt to become harsh and 
to the Chinese especially, who are not accustomed to respect 
the army, it is doubly harsh. 

INext, Kodama and Goto, to whom English colonial ser- 
vice was an inspiring example, surprised the official world 
by a summary discharge of over one thousand public ser- 
vants of high and low degrees, and collected about them men 
known and tried for their knowledge and integrity. They 
used to say often and often, "It is the man who rules and 
not red tape." In an old and well settled countrj'' "red tape" 
may be convenient, but in a new colony great latitude of 
power and initiative must be left to responsible men. T 
emphasize this point because these men, I mean the gover- 
nor general and the civil governor, attributed their success 
largely to the selection and use of right men. 

Brigandage was still rampant when Kodama went to 
Formosa, and with mihtary rule in abeyance there was some 
likelihood of its growing worse. To offset this, the constabu- 
lary department was organized and made efficient by proper 
care in choosing men for the police and by educating them in 
the language, and in the rudiments of law and industries, for 
their arduous tasks. Exceedingly arduous were their call- 
ings, since these policemen were required not only to repre- 
sent law and order but they were expected to be teachers. 
They kept account, for instance, of every man, and they 
watched over every man and woman who smoked opium; 



JAPAN AS A COLONIZER 241 

they had to be acquainted with children of school age and 
know which children went to school and which did not. 
Moreover, they were required to teach the parents the rudi- 
ments of entomology. I do not know how policemen in 
this country are educated; but I think they are better edu- 
cated, though perhaps not in entomology and hygiene. But 
our Formosan police were expected to teach the people how 
to take care of themselves, and especially about pests, about 
disinfection, and about lots of other things that would 
scarcely be required of any policeman in any other part of 
the world. Moreover these policemen were required to live 
in a village where there were no Japanese, just a purely 
Formosan village, alone or sometimes with their wives. Of 
course the policemen were required to know the language 
and to speak it. Now under civil administration armies 
were not mobilized against brigands, and if there was any 
trouble it was the policemen who had to go and settle bri- 
gandage. But the brigands were invited to subject them- 
selves to law and if they surrendered their arms they were 
assured not only of protection but against hunger. Not 
a few leaders took the hint and were given special privileges, 
so that they were assured of a future living. Those who 
resisted to the end were necessarily treated as disturbers and 
as criminals. Twelve years ago brigandage was so rampant 
that the capital of Formosa, Taihoku, was assaulted by them; 
but in the last ten years we scarcely hear of it. T went to 
Taihoku ten years ago and whenever I went a few miles 
out of the city half a dozen policemen armed with rifles used 
to accompany me for my protection. But in the last five or 
six years a young girl can travel from one end of the island 
to the other, of course excluding savage or aboriginal dis- 
tricts, of which I shall speak later. 

\ Thus what Li-Hung-Chang in the conference of Shimono- 
seki said, turned out to be of no consequence. According 
to him brigandage was something inherent in the social 
constitution of Formosa. He said it was something that 
could not be uprooted in the island; yet here is Formosa 
to-day with not a trace of brigandage. That is one of the 
first things which was accomplished by Japan as a colonizer. 



242 INAZO NITOBE 

Then another great evil in the island to which Li-Hung- 
Chang alluded was the opium smoking. "When the island 
was taken, it was a favorite subject for discussion among 
our people. Some said opium smoking must be abolished 
at once by law. Others said, "No, no, let it alone; it is 
something from which the Chinese cannot free themselves; 
let them smoke and smoke to death." What took Baron 
Goto for the first time to Formosa was the desire to study 
the question of opium-smoking from a medical standpoint ; 
and the plan he drew up was the gradual suppression of the 
smoking habit, and the modus operandi was the control of 
the production — this was to be done by the government, 
because, if the government monopolizes the production and 
manufacture of opium, it can restrict the quantity and also 
it can improve the quality so as to make it less harmful. A 
long list of all those who were addicted to this habit was 
compiled, and only those who were confirmed smokers were 
given permission to buy opium. People who never smoked 
opium before, or children, were not allowed to buy, much 
less to smoke opium, and strict surveillance was to be insti- 
tuted by the policeman, who, as I mentioned before, knows 
every man in the village. The annual returns made of 
the confirmed smokers and of the quantity consumed in the 
island show distinct and gradual decrease of opium. At 
one time the number of smokers was, in round numbers, 
170,000. In ten years the olders ones died off and 
younger ones did not come to take their place; so there is 
constant diminution. In ten years the number decreased 
from 170,000 to 130,000; and now it is about 110,000. So 
there is this constant annual decrease and that, we think, 
is the only right way to do away with this habit. It may 
interest you, perhaps, to know that American commissioners 
from the Philippine Islands came to study our system. 
WThen I met them they expressed much satisfaction and I 
dare say they are going to have the same system introduced 
in the Philippines, for the Chinese in these islands. Thus 
the second evil which Li-Hung-Chang said was inherent to 
Formosa also disappeared, or rather is fast disappearing. 
^ There are two more obstacles which we consider are in the 



JAPAN AS A COLONIZER 243 

way of the further development of the island of Formosa; 
these are, first the mosquito and second, the savages. By 
mosquitoes I mean especially the anopheles, the malaria- 
bearing mosquito. Malaria is the greatest obstacle in the 
way of developing the resources of the island. The Japanese 
immigrants who have come suffer, I may say one-third of 
them, from malaria. If I want labor and if I take with me 
100 Japanese laborers to Formosa, I can count on the effi- 
ciency of only 60 or 70, because one-third of the laborers 
must be expected to be sick with malaria. Hygienic and 
sanitary measures are vigorously enforced but this can be 
done only in the larger cities. In the city or rather the 
capital of Taihoku, they made a very perfect sewage system; 
they tore down the old castle walls and used the stones in 
making the sewage ditches, and ever since then the number 
of people suffering from malaria has decreased greatly. 
In fact, it is said that malaria has disappeared from the city. 
Careful observations resulted in substantiating the fact that 
among the mosquitoes in this city less than 1 per cent be- 
longed to the dangerous species of anopheles. The rest of 
the mosquitoes are harmless, that is to say, as far as malaria 
is concerned. Then also, speaking of sanitation, I am 
reminded of what we have done against the pest; the pest, 
or the bubonic plague, was a very common disease there, but in 
the last four years we hear nothing or it. By constant care 
and by strict enforcement of sanitary laws is the pest now 
eradicated or near eradication. 

V But as to the aborigines, or the savages of Formosa we cannot 
say we have nearly eradicated them. They belong to the 
Malay race and are fierce and brave. As I have said before, 
they live in the mountains; they never live on the plains. 
And when they want a head they steal down, hide them- 
selves among the underbrush or among the branches of trees, 
and shoot the first Chinese or Japanese that passes by. In 
fact I knew of a savage who had his rifle so placed on a rock 
that he could shoot any person who happened to walk past 
in just a certain direction and at a certain height ; and there 
he waited for days and diijs for somebody to walk right 
within his range ; and he succeeded in getting a head ! With 



244 INAZO NITOBE 

such people it is practically impossible to do anything. 
In number they must be over 100,000; we cannot count them, 
but we are pretty sure there are 115,000. Repeated at- 
tempts we have made but we never have succeeded thus 
far in doing much damage to them, though they have suc- 
ceeded in doing much damage to us. 

\ All that we can do and all that we are doing, in order to 
prevent their descending from among the heights, is to 
place a wire fence on the ridge of the hills. Barbed wire 
was used at first, but now we use a wire fence which is not 
barbed but is of ordinary wire with a strong electric current 
running through it. That may sound very savage to you, 
but it is the only way that we can keep them off from us. 
I have been in this place and seen the fences. The wire is 
strung on posts about five feet high ; there are four wires with 
a foot between them, and a strong electric current running 
through. At first they tried their best to get over the fence, 
but they have learned not to approach it. This wire fence 
stretches a distance of some three hundred miles. It costs 
several thousand dollars ; yet every year we build this fence 
some miles further in. The next year we go another stretch, 
so that their dominion will be more and more confined to the 
very tops of the mountains. Of course I do not wish to give 
you an impression that we are dealing harshly with them, 
because we offer them their choice. We say, *'If you come 
down and don't indulge in head-hunting we will welcome 
you as a brother," — because they are brothers. These 
savages look more like Japanese than Chinese and they 
themselves say of the Japanese that we Japanese are their 
kin and that the Chinese are their enemies. Because the Chi- 
nese wear their qeues they think that their heads are espec- 
ially made to be hunted. And now every year, as I say, we 
are getting a better control over them by this constant mov- 
ing of the wire fence and by the salt-famine for they have no 
salt since they are cut off from the sea-shore; they raise their 
rice, they raise millet, they have their own animals, and so 
they do not want food, but what they want badly is salt. 
So we say, ''We will give you salt if you will come down and 
give up your arms;" and tribe after tribe has recognized our 



JAPAN AS A COLONIZER 245 

power and has submitted itself to Japanese rule. Then 
we build them houses, we give them agricultural tools and 
implements, give them land, and let them continue their 
own peaceful ways of livelihood. 

",Thus I have dwelt in a very sketchy, very ud satisfactory 
way, on the four points to which Li-Hung-Chang in the con- 
ference at Shimonoseki alluded as great obstacles in the way 
of developing Formosa. What now is the result? At first 
we could not manage a colony with the money that we could 
raise in the island; every year we had to get some subsidy 
from the national treasury. It was expected that such a 
subsidy was necessary until 1910. But by the development 
of Formosan industries, especially of rice and of tea, (of 
Oolong tea, for which you are the best customer, because 
Oolong tea is made chiefly for American export), by develop- 
ing the camphor industry (because all the camphor that you 
use, if not artificial, is produced in Formosa) ; by developing 
sugar, the production of which was increased five-fold in the 
last ten years (a tremendous increase for any country in 
any industry) — by developing these industries, we can get 
money enough in the island to do all the work that is needed 
to be done there. By this I mean that irrigation work, 
for instance, is now being carried out on a large scale. Then 
there is the improvement of the harbors; both in the north, 
at Kelung, and in the south, at Takao, commodious and deep 
harbors are now being constructed or improved. We have 
built a raihoad from one end of the island to the other. 
Schools and hospitals are now to be met with in every vil- 
lage and town. Then the police attend to the health, to the 
industries, and to the education of the people. In all these 
things we think that we have succeeded quite well, especially 
when we compare our colony of Formosa with the experi- 
ments that other nations are making. We often speak of 
English colonies as being models; we speak of French colo- 
nies as examples not to be followed ; and we are looking to 
your experiment in the Phihppines to find what it will 
amount to. Comparing our Formosa with the colonies of 
these different powers, we have good reason to congratulate 
ourselves. 



246 INAZO NITOBE 

^ I have made a very rough, sketchy address this afternoon. 
I have only tried to show what were the general lines of 
policy pursued in the development of Formosa. We have 
been successful. A colony was at first thought to be a 
luxury, but now Formosa is to us a necessity. The example 
that we set there in that island will be followed in other 
colonies of ours. T may say that the general lines of the 
colonial policy of Formosa were first of all, the defense of 
the island. So much is said about our increased navy, 
some people in this country think that we are increasing 
our navy in order to attack San Francisco or Manila; but 
with the acquisition of Formosa, of the island of Saghalien, 
and of Korea, our coast fine has increased iimnensely and yet 
our increased navy is not sufficient for the proper defence 
of all the coast fines that we have, for the first great object 
in the colonial poficy of Formosa, and I may say of Japan, is 
the defence of the new territory. 

The second is the protection of property and life, and the 
dissemination of legal institutions. People unaccustomed 
to the protection of law feel as though it were despotism. 
But they will soon find out that, after an,good government 
and good laws are the safeguard of life and property, and we 
have to teach in Korea as weU as in Formosa what govern- 
ment and what laws are. 

Then the third point is the protection of health. I have 
spoken to you of what we have done in Formosa; similar 
lines of poficy will be pursued in Korea. When I saw Prince 
Ito in Seoul and when I told him that the population in 
Korea had not increased in the last hundred years and that 
perhaps the Korean race was destined to disappear, he said, 
"Well, I am not sure. I wish to see whether good laws will 
increase the fecundity of the Korean people." In Formosa 
it was a very well known fact that without new recruits 
coming from the mainland of China the population would 
diminish. There were m^ore deaths than births. But since 
we assmned sovereignty there annual returns show a gradual 
increase of births over deaths; hence, as I said, the third 
great point in the colonial policy of Japan is the protection of 
health. 



JAPAN AS A COLONIZER 247 

^ The fourth is the encouragement of industries. In For- 
mosa the government has done much to improve the quahty 
as well as the quantity of rice, and to improve irrigation. 
The improvements in the sugar industry which have been 
made were suggested by the government. When the work 
was started ten years ago we got sixty tons of cuttings from 
Hawaii; and we have about twenty mills, the machinery 
being imported from Germany, England and Hawaii. The 
experiments in the manufacture of sugar were also made by 
the government and when the experiments resulted in im- 
provement, this was told to the people; experts were sent 
out to the different villages, preaching the advantages of 
better culture. So with other branches of industry. The 
government is constantly encouraging the people to make 
improvements. 

'\ And then the fifth policy is that of education. In For- 
mosa we have just reached the stage when we are taking 
up education seriously. We could not do it before this, 
because our idea was first of all to give to those new people 
something which will satisfy their hunger and thirst ; their 
bodies must be nourished before their minds. And now that 
the economic condition has improved in the last year or two, 
schools are being started in all the villages. 
V These broad lines of colonial policy which we have prac- 
tised with good results in Formosa, will be transferred in 
Korea. We do not trouble ourselves about the question of 
assimilation. In the last number of the Journal of Race 
Development published by this University, I read an article 
by Mr. MacKay, British consul in Formosa. He concludes 
his article by expressing two doubts, namely: one in regard 
to the commingling of races, that is, Chinese and Formosans; 
and second, in regard to the Japanization of the Formosans. 
He doubts whether either will take place. Well, as far as the 
Japanese are concerned, we do not trouble ourselves about 
these questions. I think assimilation will be found easier 
in Korea because the Korean race is very much allied to 
our own. In Formosa, assimilation will be out of the ques- 
tion for long years to come andweshallnottry toforceit. The 
idea is that we put no pressure upon them, with the object of 



248 INAZO NITOBE 

assimilation or Japanization in view. Our idea is to pro- 
vide a Japanese milieu, so to speak, and if people come and 
if they assimilate themselves, well and good. We have a 
proverb in Japan which says, "He who flees is not pursued, 
but he who comes is not repulsed." If the Formosans or the 
Koreans come to us, we will not repulse them. We will 
take them with open arms and we will hold them as our 
brothers, but we will not pursue them. We leave their 
customs and manners just as they like to have them. Our 
principle is firm government and free society. Firmness in 
government is something which they did not have before, 
and that is what we offer to them. 

\ And therefore I beg of Americans who are interested in the 
development of Japan as a colonial power, not to be misled 
by reports which now and then appear in different peri- 
odicals and newspapers by critics of all nationalities and 
of all countries. I have often read articles written by 
foreign critics who speak of our administration in Korea 
as a failure. A well educated man, an American, wrote 
that in Formosa the people are very much opposed to the 
Japanese government, are very much dissatisfied with it. 
If I were to go among the farmers in the west of this country 
and ask, "Are you satisfied with Mr. Taft's administra- 
tion?" they would say "Yes, we are." But if I were to 
press the question. "Do you think there is something to 
improve?" "Of course," the farmers will say, "I do not 
think Mr. Taft's administration is perfect." Well, I may 
note down in my book that the American people are dissat- 
isfied with Mr. Taft and may rise against him at any mo- 
ment. Such a rumor you may hear from time to time in 
any newspaper about any country; but as our adage has 
it — "Proof is stronger than argument;" and I have given 
but a few proofs, though, if time allowed, I could give 
more. 



JAPAN IN SOUTH MANCHURIA^ 

By Toyokichi lyenaga, Ph.D., Professorial Lecturer in Polit- 
ical Science, University of Chicago. 

To Japan few problems of international relation are of 
more vital concern than the Manchurian question; for upon 
its wise solution depends the future of the empire and peace 
in the Far East. Nothing, therefore, will be more welcome 
to us than a clear and just understanding by other nations 
of our status in South Manchuria, and the grounds upon 
which it rests. 

Historical Retrospect 

The historical retrospect claims our first attention, if we 
are to weigh the Manchurian question equitably. Two 
tragic events of supreme importance fasten most power- 
fully the Japanese thought and imagination upon Manchuria. 
Only known to the West till the middle of the past century as 
the habitat of nomads and mounted bandits, Manchuria 
suddenly sprang into international significance by the China- 
Japan war of 1894-95. During its progress Japanese sol- 
diers overran and conquered a part of the Chinese territory 
known as the Liaotung Peninsula. As the reward of war 
China ceded it to Japan by the Shimonoseki treaty. No 
sooner, however, had the peace terms been made known than 
Japan was confronted by a formidable coalition consisting 
of Russia, Germany and France, bent on depriving Japan of 
the best fruits of victory. 

To this force majeure Japan was compelled to submit, and 
she retreated in 1895 from the Asiatic mainland with what- 
ever grace her self -discipline could command. The ink was 
hardly dry on the note addressed by the three European 
powers to the Mikado, counselling him to renounce his 
claim to the Liaotung Peninsula on the plea that its reten- 

^ Address delivered on November 23, 1911, at Clark University. 

249 



250 TOYOKICHI lYENAGA 

tion by Japan would be a standing menace to the capital of 
China and the peace of the Orient, when Germany seized 
Kiaochow, France secured Kwang-Chow Wan, and the Rus- 
sian eagle flew over the fortress of Port Arthur. Swift and 
dramatic thereafter was the course of Russia, who with the 
mercilessness of an avenging host soon laid Manchuria 
under the hoofs of her Cossacks, and posted their vanguards 
on the south bank of the Yalu. The kingdom of Korea and 
the Island Empire itself were thus drifting toward a position 
where they would both be at the mercy of the Tsar. 

Brought to this perilous position, Japan at last unsheathed 
her sword for self-preservation. Twice within a decade 
Manchuria had thus become the battlefield upon which the 
fate of the Japanese nation was to be determined. The risk 
it meant, and the supreme efforts it demanded, made the 
Russo-Japanese war an event of importance unprecedented 
in the annals of Japan. For a nation, just emerged from 
feudalism, which had hardly ever tested its mettle against a 
European foe, to fight the enemy whose proved valor and 
doggedness, and whose immense resources and population, 
had for half a century past been the terror of Europe, was 
surely to run a risk that few nations since the days of Mara- 
thon have had to face. Tremendous as was the task of 
overcoming Russia, right splendidly was it performed by our 
generals, soldiers, and sailors through their superb heroism, 
discipline, and self-immolation. 

The sacrifices demanded of the people were no less exact- 
ing. To the altar of the state they offered 130,000 lives and 
2,000,000,000 yen of treasure. Great as are these figures, 
they by no means fairly represent the true cost of war. They 
give no account of the thousand hardships endured by the 
wounded and by the wives and children of those who fought 
and died, which, as Cardinal Gibbons justly remarks, are the 
most frightful sufferings of war. These human sufferings 
are seemingly evanescent, but they are not forgotten. A 
national outpouring of spirit so profound, so intense, so far- 
reaching, has left wounds in the deep recesses of the nation's 
breast that have not yet healed. At the same time Japan 
will never forget the great debt she owes to the moral and 



JAPAN IN SOUTH MANCHURIA 251 

financial support so gladly given at the most critical moment 
by her loyal ally, Great Britain, and her constant friend, 
America. 

Such, in brief, is the historical ground upon which rests 
Japan's present position in south Manchuria. Justice de- 
mands that the statesmen in power, who sway the destinies 
of nations, should recall this historical retrospect. As the 
heroic deeds recede into the background of history, the 
agonies of the djdng are hushed in the silence of the tomb, and 
the heart-breaking woes of widows and orphans find their 
echo only in desolate homes, the cold letters of treaties and 
conventions alone remain to serve as the basis of judgment 
on the claims of opposing interests. Already critics are not 
wanting who claim that the advantages secured by Japan in 
south Manchuria are far in excess of those she merited by 
her success in the late war. 

Totally different was the first verdict of the Japanese 
people upon the terms of the Portsmouth treaty. When its 
text became known in September, 1905, the Japanese nation 
in almost one breath raised its voice against it. In Tokyo 
the disaffected citizens planned a monster demonstration at 
Hibiya Park, and there came into collision with the police 
and gendarmerie. The meeting finally broke up, but the 
enraged populace, degenerating into a mob, paraded the 
streets, set on fire the official residence of the home minister, 
attacked the official organ Kokumin, and burned and de- 
stroyed 169 pohce stations, with more than a thousand 
attendant casualities. The disturbance was not suppressed 
until the aid of soldiers was called in, and the martial law 
proclaimed in the capital. This incident is recalled here, 
not to extenuate the weakness of the Japanese people, who 
for the first time since the oubtreak of hostilities lost their 
self-restraint, but to bring into a clearer relief their point of 
view upon the results of the war. "After an unbroken 
series of victories," they cried, "What have we got? No 
indemnity! No Russian territory but the half of the Sag- 
halien, which was once ours! No guarantee to limit the 
Russian armament on the Pacific to ensure our future secur- 
ity! Only the lease of a strip of territory around Port Arthur 



252 TOYOKICHI lYENAGA 

and a few hundred miles of railroads in south Manchuria — 
these for the blood of hundreds of thousands of our brethren, 
and billions of money!" 

It was in the face of such an opposition on the part of the 
people that the peace treaty was concluded. The states- 
men in power took upon themselves the responsibihty of 
caring for the true interest of the nation. Komura's tri- 
umph at the Portsmouth conference table must, therefore, 
be pronounced as one of the most remarkable victories 
Japan gained during the epoch-making years of 1904-05. It 
showed Japan's attachment to the last to the high ideals she 
set before her. It secured all the objects for which Japan 
went to war — the right of existence and growth of the empire, 
the preponderating influence of Japan in Korea, the mainte- 
nance of China's integrity and of the principle of the ''Open 
Door." The waiving of the claim for indemnity was at once 
a moral and diplomatic gain. To have prolonged the war 
for the sake of obtaining an indemnity would have brought 
upon Japan the condemnation of the world. To have ex- 
acted an indemnity would have left an eternal thorn in the 
breast of Russia, and thus long deferred the friendship and 
cooperation of the two Powers in the Far East. By wise 
moderation Japan gave signal proof of her solicitude to 
listen to the voice of humanity, and saved herself from the 
impending financial impasse. 

The material interests secured were, however, undoubtedly 
not at all commensurate with the outlay incurred and the 
victories gained. The more imperative, therefore, became 
the duty of the rulers to adopt such proper measures as to 
safeguard the interests acquired, and to recoup the exchequer 
drained by war by means of the industrial and commercial 
development of the regions brought under Japan's control. 
The story of the consolidation of her interests in accordance 
with the terms of the Portsmouth treaty, and its corollary, 
the Peking treaty of December, 1905, is what constitutes 
Japan's present status in south Manchuria. 

So much haziness exists in the mind of the western public 
in its conception of the Manchurian status, that a plain 
statement of what Japan and her sons have done and are 



JAPAN IN SOUTH MANCHUKIA 253 

doing there seems not amiss. Such a survey, though it 
might seem superfluous to those well posted on the subject, 
will clear the way for the further discussion of the political, 
military, and economic grounds upon which Japan bases 
her Manchurian policy. Anti-Japanese propagandism pros- 
ecuted by a certain section of the press and publicists has 
conveyed to the American public the impression that Japan 
is in virtual control of the southern portion of Manchuria, 
while the northern section is still in the Russian grasp. As 
a matter of fact, all portions of Manchuria, once occupied 
by the Japanese and Russian troops, except the Kwantung 
Province and the ''railway zone," have been entirely and 
completely restored to the exclusive control of China. Out 
of the territory measuring 360,000 square miles, what re- 
mains under the control and administration of Russia and 
Japan is in total 1803 square miles of land, together with the 
1773 miles of railroad, having on each side of the tracks on an 
average about one hundred feet of land embraced in the 
"railway zone." Of all this, what actually came under the 
jurisdiction of Japan was the seven hundred odd miles of 
railway, the seventy square miles of the ''railway zone," 
and the Kwantung Province. Let me briefly describe them. 

The Kwantung Province 

The province lies on the southern extremity of the Liao- 
tung Peninsula and includes Port Arthur and Dairen (Rus- 
sian Dalny). The territory covers an area, together with 
that of the adjacent islands, of 1,303 square miles. It had 
in 1910 a population of 462,399, of which foreigners numbered 
112, Japanese 36,688, and Chinese 425,599. Transferred 
by Russia to Japan, the lease of the province continues under 
the same conditions as under the old regime. 
^- With its seat in Port Arthur, the government of the 
province is in the hands of the governor-general, assisted by 
a civil administrator. The former, besides assuming the 
defense and administration of the province under lease, 
supervises the maintenance of peace and order in the entire 
Japanese railway zone, and oversees the administration of 



254 TOYOKICHI lYENAGA 

the South Manchurian Railway. He also commands the 
railway guards, who are quartered in different places along 
the road. The expenditures of the Kwantung government 
for the financial year 1911-12 amounted to 5,791,653 yen, 
beside the local expenditure of 1,059,524 yen, of which 
859,524 yen was defrayed out of local revenue. In this 
estimate, however, the expenditure of the railway guards is 
not included, since it belongs to the account of the depart- 
ment of war of the home government. Of the sum quoted 
above the national treasury grant for this financial year 
amounted to 3,644,047 y6n, which, together with 200,000 
yen of grant for local expenses, shows that more than half 
of the expenditure of the Kwantung government is still borne 
by the national exchequer. 

With the paltry sum of $3,000,000 gold, not larger than 
that expended by the German administration of Kiaochow, 
the Kwantung government maintains its staff and equip- 
ment; keeps peace and order in the province as well as in the 
railway zone; administers civil affairs, including that of 
justice, the latter by means of efficient law-courts and a 
well-kept prison; sustains seven public schools, one high 
school, one high school for girls, one technical college, beside 
several minor educational establishments ; supports a marine 
bureau and a meteorological station; and attends to the 
work of sanitation, relief, encouragement of industry, and 
other requirements of civilized life in the territory under its 
care. 

The South Manchurian Railroad Company 

\ The chief factor in the development of South Manchuria 
is the railroad company. It was organized in 1906 to under- 
take the works connected with the railroads transferred by 
Russia to Japan by the Portsmouth treaty. Its authorized 
capital is 200,000,000 yen, and at the same time it enjoys 
the statutory powers to borrow to the actual extent of its 
authorized capital. One-half of a million shares, each of 200 
yen, is held by the Japanese government, representing the 
value of the property handed over to the company — namely, 
the railroads in existence at the time of transfer, all property 



JAPAN IN SOUTH MANCHURIA 255 

accessory to them, and the coal mines at Fushun and Yentai. 
The remaining half of the shares was to have been distributed 
among the Japanese and Chinese subscribers, who were 
guaranteed by the Japanese government with the interest of 
6 per cent per annum on the paid up capital for the period 
of fifteen years. The organization committee of the com- 
pany, however, decided to call for a subscription of only 
20,000,000 yen, in view of the financial depression then pre- 
vailing, and to resort to debenture issues in England in order 
to raise the funds needed for the successful prosecution of 
the company's enterprises. Accordingly a loan of £8,000,- 
000, was floated in London at three separate times during 
1907-08, bringing to the company the net of £7,490,000. 
On January 31, 1911, the company floated in London an- 
other loan of £6,000,000 out of which the previous loan of 
£2,000,000 was returned, so that the existing loan of the 
company stands at £12,000,000. 

\ The company has undertaken various enterprises, the 
chief of which are railroad, shipping, harbor construction, 
mining, electric light and power plants, gas works, several 
undertakings in the railway zone, hotels, and experimental 
stations.2 

1.' The railroads that came into the possession of the com- 
pany on April 1, 1907, were the Changchun-Dairen trunk 
line of 437.5 miles, the Autung-Mukden military (2 feet 
6 inches) road of 188.9 miles, and the short branch lines to 
Port Arthur, Lin-shu-tun, Yinkou, Yentai, and Fushun, mak- 
ing the total of about 720 miles. These roads with the ex- 
ception of the Antung-Mukden had been converted by the 
Japanese army from the Russian gauge of 5 feet into the 
Japanese standard of 3 feet 6 inches in order to adapt them 
to the rolling stock brought over from Japan. To reconvert 
the roads to the standard gauge of 4 feet 8| inches, and to 
double the main track from Dairen to Suchiatun of 238 miles, 
in order to make them an effective international artery be- 
tween the west and the east, were, therefore, the first work 
of the company. Both of these undertakings have been 

^ This r6sum6 is based on the article in the Taiyo, October 1910, by Mr. 
C. Seino, Director of the South Manchurian R. R. Company. 



256 



TOYOKICHI lYENAGA 



already completed. The company runs express trains, pro- 
vided with Pullman sleeping and dining cars, three times a 
week to connect with the Russian line at Changchun, with 
the Chinese line to Peking at Mukden, and with the steam- 
ship line to Shanghai at Dairen. The standardization of the 
Antung-Mukden line was also finished on October 31, 1911. 
The road is now open to the public, and will enable the Euro- 
pean traveler to save about two days, bringing Tokyo to the 
reach of London within a fortnight. 

The company has its workshops at Dairen, Liaoyang, 
Kung-chu-ling, and Antung-Hsien, and is building near 
Dairen an extensive shop, with the capacity of repairing 
at the same time 20 locomotives and 46 freight cars of 30 
tons each. The growth of passenger and freight traffic, 
and railway receipts is shown by the following figures: 



1 FIRST HALF OF 1907 


FIRST HALF OF 1909 


FIRST HALF OF 1911 


Passengers 


704,300 
533,283 tons 
4,093,425 yen 


1,029,418 

1,756,225 tons 
5,858,158 yen 


1,440,400 

2,267,858 tons 
6,323,302 yen 


Freight 


Receipts 





In short, during the period of two years 1908-1909 the traffic 
of passengers has increased by 40 per cent, that of freight 
has more than trebled, and the entire receipts more than 
doubled. The growth has been no less marked in later years. 

Besides the railroads mentioned above the company is 
participating in the building of the Chinese Changchun- 
Kirin Railway of about 80 miles, having contributed half 
of the capital for construction. This road, when finished, 
will open up large tracts of forest and the lands in the Sun- 
gari valley for the production of wheat and beans. This 
Changchun-Kirin road, according to the treaty made between 
China and Japan in September 1909, will be extended to 
Hoiryong on the Korean frontier, where it will connect with 
the Korean system, linking it with the port of Chongjin 
on the Sea of Japan. 

2. Shipping and harbor work. To connect Dairen with 
Shanghai, and thus facilitate the through passage of Euro- 
pean travelers bound to that commercial metropolis of China, 



JAPAN IN SOUTH MANCHURIA 257 

the south Manchurian Railroad Company has started twice- 
a-week steamship service between the two ports. Since the 
route is the shortest between Europe and the Lower Yang- 
tsze regions, its patrons are daily increasing. The passen- 
gers, freight, and receipts of the steamship line were in the 
second half of 1908 respectively 1536 passengers, 10,264 tons, 
and 66,750 yen, while the corresponding figures for the first 
half of 1911 stood at 2221 passengers, 37,518 tons, and 144,633 
yen. The company is also engaged in the shipping of its 
coal from Port Arthur. 

^^Far more important is the harbor construction at Dairen, 
for upon it depends the question whether or not the termi- 
nal port of the railroad will succeed in attracting the trade 
of Manchuria. It is undertaken at the estimated cost of 
18,000,000 yen. The plan follows closely that formulated 
by its former builders. The construction of the eastern 
breakwater, 1221 feet long, 20 feet wide, and 19 feet above 
the tide, is nearing its completion. Between this and the 
northwestern breakwater, 12,500 feet long, with the same 
dimension and height as the former, is provided the opening 
of 1200 feet. Facing this entrance are built the magnificent 
wharves, with a frontage of over 6000 feet, and capable of 
accommodating steamers up to 28 feet in draught. The 
installment of cranes, and other equipment, enable the goods 
to be discharged from a ship and placed aboard the freight 
cars in one operation. These facilities for handling the 
cargo, together with the fact that Dairen is open to navigation 
throughout the year, are advantages not enjoyed by other 
Manchurian outlets. 

3. Mining. The right of exploiting the coal mines at 
Fushun and Yentai was the most valuable of the rights and 
privileges secured in connection with the railroad. The coal 
field of Fushun runs parallel to the Hun for 10 miles. The 
thickness of the seam ranges between 80 and 175 feet. The 
most conservative estimate places the resource at 800,000,000 
tons. The seven pits working, provided with the up-to- 
date machinery, yield now the daily output of about 3500 
tons. The newest shafts, called Oyama and Togo pits, 
when in good working order will probably yield a daily out- 



258 TOYOKICHI lYENAGA 

put of 5000 tons. The Fushun coal, in addition to its con- 
sumption by the company, supphed in the year October 
1910 to September 1911 the home market to the amount of 
410,862 tons, while its export to Shanghai, Hongkong, Sing- 
apore, Tientsin, Chefoo, Harbin, and Korea, amounted to 
259,245 tons. 

■ Connected with the mining enterprise at Fushun, the 
company has laid out new streets at Chien-Chin-Chai, 
installed electric and gas plants, laid water works, and estab- 
lished a school and a hospital. 

N 4. Undertakings in the railway zone. By the "railway 
zone" in Manchuria is meant the tracts of land adjoining 
the railroad, which, by virtue of the Russo-Chinese agree- 
ment of 1896, Russia acquired from China. Upon these 
lands Russia obtained the right to erect any buildings and 
carry on all kinds of work. Furthermore, by the disclosure 
made at the time of the Fisher controversy at Harbin by 
M. Pokotiloff, Russian minister at Peking, it became pub- 
licly known that the authentic French text of the sixth 
article of the agreement conferred upon Russia, not only the 
privileges just enumerated, but also "le droit de I'adminis- 
tration exclusive et absolue sur ces terrains. "^ 

The Portsmouth treaty made Japan the legatee of the 
railway zone south of Changchun, with all the rights and 
privileges appertaining thereto. The Japanese railway 
zone covers an area of 70.54 square miles, and that of Russia 
measures 513.63 square miles. Small as is the Japanese 
zone, the land is well distributed in all of the important trad- 
ing centers along the South Manchurian Railway and the 
company has undertaken various works here. New streets 
lined with commodious houses in the vicinity of the native 
towns have been laid out at Wa-fang-tien, Hsiung-yo-Cheng, 
Kai-ping, Ta-shih-chiao, Hai-Cheng, Liao-yang, Mukden, 
Tieling, Kai-yuan, Chang-tu, Szuping-Chieh, Kung-Chu- 
ling, Fan-chia-tun, and Changchun. Some of them are 
provided with water works, sewerage systems, parks, elec- 



' These points are fully treated in the able articles * ' Japan in Manchuria' ' 
by Dr. K. Asakawa in Yale Review, vols. 17 and 18. 



JAPAN IN SOUTH MANCHURIA 259 

trie and gas works for lighting and heating purposes — bless- 
ings not enjoyed by many of the towns of Japan. 
\ To care for the sick excellent hospitals atDairenandChien- 
Chin-Ghai, with branches at nineteen other localities, have 
been established. The Dairen Hospital, provided with the 
most efficient medical staff and modern equipment, daily 
treats on an average seven hundred patients, and receives 
one hundred and fifty inmates. For educational purposes 
there have been established within the zone eight elementary 
schools, with seven subordinate establishments. To some 
of them are attached manual training schools and dormi- 
tories, the latter for the convenience of non-resident stu- 
dents. In some places the railroad company has established 
well-organized market-places and recreation grounds such as 
the Electric Park at Dairen, and in one town even a slaugh- 
ter house. As no detail for the care of the living is neglected, 
so even the dead are properly cared for by the system of 
cremation and by the provision of cemeteries. 
' For administrative purposes the railroad company has 
divided the "zone" into ten units, whose heads, appointed 
by the company, discharge on a small scale, with the aid of 
a staff of employees, almost all the ordinary functions of 
a town chief, or a village headman. All public expenses 
connected with the undertakings described above have been 
paid by the company, while most of the local expenses are 
defrayed out of the levies charged upon the residents. Lands 
unused and some houses built by the company are rented to 
the residents on payment of specified rents. In 1911 the 
houses and population within the zone numbered respec- 
tively 14,867 and 59,361. 
' In addition to the long list of enterprises already given, the 
railroad company undertakes the business of warehousing; 
has established three experimental stations — central laboj- 
atory, geological laboratory, and experimental silk mill (the 
last was lately temporarily closed) — with the object of pro- 
moting the scientific utilization of the agricultural and min- 
eral products of Manchuria; installed at Dairen a gas plant 
and an electric power house of 3000 kilowatts with which it 
runs the street car line of 13 miles; has built and maintains 



260 TOYOKICHI lYENAGA 

excellent hotels at Dairen, Port Arthur, Changchun, and 
Mukden, with their customary appendages, barber shops, 
liveries and laundries ; and has built elegant summer cottages 
on the sea-shore near Dairen to attract the visitors from 
Shanghai and other ports. 

The expenditures incurred by the Railroad Company up to 
September 1911 for all the enterprises described were, be- 
side the capital investment of 100,000,000 yen, in total 
104,442,439 yen. 

Other Factors in South Manchuria 

^ Beside the Kwantung government and the South Man- 
churian Railroad Company, there are a few elements which 
are wielding powerful influence in the development of the 
region. The Japanese settlers themselves, with a few not- 
able exceptions, can hardly be counted among these influ- 
ential factors. The great majority of the first stream of 
colonists were adventurers who came on the heels of their 
soldiers to hunt fortune with empty hands. They find it 
impossible to compete with the Chinese as farmers, who are 
content to work \\dth the primitive methods on an incredibly 
small income. The wages of farm hands range from 15 sen 
to 30 sen (15 cents of American money) a day. Out of this 
scanty pay the thrifty Chinese are able to save money, as 
has been so well proved by large amounts of money found on 
the corpses of men who were found dead on the road side 
during the recent epidemic plague. Nor is it easy to beat 
the natives in retail business, in which they are past masters. 
The bulk of the Japanese population in Manchuria might, 
therefore, be said to be not in an enviable position. Their 
business as provision dealers, carpenters, musicians, etc., 
is mostly limited to their kin. The standard of their intel- 
ligence and morale has not hitherto been high enough to 
command respect of the natives, or of foreigners. But a 
better class of settlers now coming in will, it is to be hoped, 
bring with them the dawn of a new era. 

To the above rule notable exceptions are found in some 
enterprising bean-cake mill owners at Dairen and New 



JAPAN IN SOUTH MANCHURIA 261 

Chwang, Okura and Company, Yokohama Specie Bank, 
Mitsui and Company, and a few others. Especially note- 
worthy is the activity of the concern last named. Directed 
by the best business talent at its headquarters in Tokyo, the 
great firm is now playing the most significant role in the com- 
mercial development of Manchuria. By dint of intelligence, 
foresight, and energy, it has created out of nothing the pres- 
ent most important item of Manchuria's international trade 
— the bean trade. In 1905 the first consignment of the crop 
was sent to Europe,which, however, ended in failure; in 1908- 
09 the export amounted to 397,156 tons; in the year 1909- 
1910 the export from Dairen alone reached 274,000 tons. 
Although the trade might be subject to many fluctuations, 
this means a newly discovered trade with Europe of 30,000,- 
000 yen or so annually. By the latest news, I learn that the 
soya beans have also begun to be imported into the United 
States. 

Industry and Commerce 

^Turning now to the status of industry and commerce in 
South Manchuria the first striking fact is that the manufac- 
turing industry is conspicuous only by its absence. The 
number of manufacturing concerns can be counted upon five 
fingers. A dry dock at Dairen managed by the Kawasaki 
Dockyard Company, the colliery and iron industry at Pen- 
shihu by Messrs. Okura and Company; a score of bean-cake 
and bean-oil mills at Dairen and Newchang, a lumber in- 
dustry of joint Chinese and Japanese enterprise on the Yalu, 
a British- American tobacco factory at Mukden, a cement 
works, a match factory, and a flour mill, and some native 
industries of raw silk and of distilling spirits from kaoliang, 
and a few others, — these constitute about all of the manufac- 
turing industries undertaken in south Manchuria outside 
the sphere of activity of the South Manchurian Railroad 
Company. 

^ The present source of wealth of Manchuria lies chiefly in 
its agricultural products. The principal products are kao- 
liang, wheat, and the soya beans. The annual crop of beans 
is estimated at 1,700,000 tons, which has the approximate 



262 TOYOKICHI lYENAGA 

value of $35,000,000 gold. The gross estimate of the Man- 
churian crop placed by some at $40,000,000 gold must, there- 
fore, be far below the true mark. 

"-Cormiiercially the soya bean reigns supreme. Other sta- 
ple agricultural products are mostly consumed at home. 
Beans and their by-products — bean-cake and bean-oil — 
form the chief items of export trade. The value of the an- 
nual trade of these two items is between 70 and 80 million 
yen. The other articles of export trade are wild cocoons, 
wild silk, timber, cattle-hides, furs and skins, bristles and 
bones. The principal imports are cotton piece goods and 
yarns, flour, kerosene oil, railway material, machines and 
machinery, sugar and matches. The total value of trade for 
1910 (January to December) that passed through the ports 
of Dairen, Newchwang, and Antung was 181,674,901 gold 
yen. 

^ So much, then, for plain facts. The recitation given above 
will suffice to show the broad outline of what Japan has 
accomplished in south Manchuria within the short period 
of seven years. These works, be it recollected, were under- 
taken under strict limitation of power and influence pre- 
scribed by Treaties. In short, by maintaining peace and 
order wdthin her sphere, and by her insistence that China 
suppress the brigandage and robbery rampant in the land, 
Japan has contributed in no small measure to the safety of 
person and propertj^, and the well-being of the inhabitants. 
By setting good examples of schools, hospitals, and scien- 
tific institutions, Japan has demonstrated to the Chinese the 
blessings of education, medicine, and science, to which they 
were strangers for ages past. By fostering the growth of 
industry and commerce, Japan has considerably increased 
the comfort and wealth of the natives, and has opened to 
the world a store-house of treasure, whose doors were locked 
since the beginning of time. By these works for the cause 
of civilization and humanity, reenforced by the rights guar- 
anteed by treaties with the interested nations, Japan claims 
to establish the raison d'etre of her presence in South Man- 
churia. 



japan in south manchuria - 263 

The ''Open Door" Policy and its Alleged Violation 

BY Japan 

One of the cardinal principles of Japan's Manchurian 
policy is that of the "open door" and equal opportunity to 
all. It has been repeatedly avowed by the Japanese govern- 
ment in treaties and conventions. Loud, however, has been 
the cry raised since the war by some western critics against 
its alleged violation. For a time the American public lis- 
tened with eagerness to such charges. Indeed, the attack 
became once so popular that, it was asserted, a book on the 
Far East, unless sufficiently stuffed with the anti-Japanese 
material, could never hope to run the market. Synchro- 
nous with the tide of reaction against Japan that set in after 
the war, the past half a decade was the golden age of those 
authors. Slowly, however, the tide is changing. The late 
disposition of the western public to relish no longer those 
stale stories shows that it is not only weary of them, but has 
found strong arguments that go to upset them. 
cv It is here fair to admit that some discriminations against 
foreigners there might have been, especially during the mili- 
tary occupation and the early days of the railroad manage- 
ment, if by discrimination is meant the favors conferred 
by the authorities upon their compatriots sooner than those 
given to foreigners, whose language and methods were not 
so intelligible to them. Again, the system of offering re- 
bates to large shippers in proportion to their freight bills, 
abolished two years ago, ought never to have been adopted. 
Whatever might have been its business expediency, it was an 
unwise policy from national standpoint. It lent to Japan's 
enemies a powerful weapon of attack. Especially to the 
people, who have always looked upon this peculiarly Amer- 
ican system as the means devised to defeat the "square 
deal," it was the cause of much suspicion. So long, however, 
as the system was open to public inspection, and its privi- 
lege enjoyed by all, Japanese and foreigners alike, it did not 
in the least violate the principle of equal opportunity to all. 
^ The stories of discriminations and underhand dealing were 
originally invented by those who were at sea to explain the 



264 TOYOKICHI lYENAGA 

loss of the Manchurian market for American and European 
products, and the striking gain for the Japanese. But the 
insinuations have fallen far short of the mark. For there are 
positive and too conclusive causes that have contributed to 
the success of the Japanese trade. The first and foremost is 
the fact that Japan is the largest buyer of Manchurian prod- 
ucts. Out of the total export of beans and bean-cake, 
which form, as already stated, the major part of the Manchu- 
rian export, Japan bought in 1909 for her own consumption 
alone 94 per cent of bean-cake and 17 per cent of the beans 
exported — the two items amounting in value to over 30,000,- 
000 yen — beside handling herself the greater portion of the 
bean export business. So important is this fact as a com- 
mercial factor that it makes a writer in the Far Eastern 
Review, Mr. G. Bronson Rhea, exclaim: ''It is a far cry 
from high diplomacy to the humble soya bean, yet we hold 
to the belief that the past and present commercial situation 
and ultimate solution of the vexatious Manchurian question 
is bound up in the control of this one product." In the 
purchase of other articles of Manchurian export, Japan is 
also among the leaders. It is but the simple law of com- 
merce that places so large a buyer on the vantage ground 
as a seller over those who receive in return only cash for 
their wares. There are again other reasons no less strong 
for the advance of Japanese trade. These are the small 
cost of production and transportation, the facilities for finan- 
cial transactions extended by the Yokohama Specie Bank, 
the identity of scripts and manners, and other means calcu- 
lated to foster trade with the Chinese. 

After analj^zing in detail the subject under review, Mr. 
K. K. Kawakami, in his forthcoming book, ''American- 
Japanese Relations," sums it up in these words :^ 

Japan has subsidized her steamship lines to Manchuria, installed 
commercial museums in various important towns in order to adver- 
tise her merchandize, sent commercial agents to inquire into the 
Manchurian markets, and, what is more important, has become 
a most liberal purchaser of Manchurian products, thus estabhshing 

* The manuscripts of the book touching the subject were shown to the 
speaker through the courtesy of the author. 



JAPAN IN SOUTH MANCHURIA 265 

close business relations with the native producers and merchants. 
These, reenforced by the advantage which she enjoys over Western 
nations in geographical position,in the cost of production and trans- 
portation, have enabled her to push her trade in Manchuria with 
remarkable success." 



Causes of the Loss of American Trade in Manchuria 

AND China 

What interests Americans will be the question how far 
and in what line has Japan made incursions into their Man- 
churian trade. In flour, kerosene oil, and railway material, 
which are among the chief articles of American import into 
Manchuria, Japan is America's customer, not her competitor. 
In them America finds her rivals in Russia and Germany. 
The Harbin flour mills, the Baku oil, and the Sumatra oil 
of the Asiatic Petroleum Company (a German concern), 
and the steel mills and car factories of Russia and Germany 
have been hard at work to make raid upon the American 
trade. Though their efforts are not yet crowned with suc- 
cess, they have affected in a measure the American import. 
In supplying cigarettes to the Manchurian market, the Jap- 
anese tobacco monopoly tried for a time to wrest the trade 
from the British-American Tobacco Trust. But the superior 
organization and business method of the latter have again 
made it master of the situation. 

■ It is in the trade of cotton goods alone that Japan has 
played the role of a successful competitor of America. 
Japan has developed the trade in Manchuria from nothing 
in 1900 to 151,400 pieces of sheeting, 52,000 pieces of drill, 
and 1,800 pieces of shirtings in 1908, while the American trade 
of 1,140,620 pieces of sheeting and 442,291 pieces of drills 
in 1904 has dropped to 515,195 pieces of sheetings and 194,- 
570 pieces of drills, in 1908. For the year 1909 the imports 
of sheeting, drill, and shirting from Japan and America 
through the three ports of Antung, Dairen, and New 
Chwang, stood thus: 



266 TOYOKICHI lYENAGA 





FOR JAPAN 


FOR THE UNITED BTATES 


Sheeting 


pieces 

261,744 
114,814 
109,174 


piecea 

692,174 


Drill 


317,561 


Shirting 


166,042 







These figures, however, must be read with caution, for 
as some of the American goods are re-shipped from Shanghai 
on Japanese vessels, it is often difficult to determine the true 
origin of the imported goods. Whatever may be the exact 
amount it is certain that America has sustained loss in its 
Manchurian trade of cotton goods, and to that amount 
Japan and England are the gainers. 

The causes of Japan's successful intrusion are obvious — the 
cheap labor and the small cost of transportation. When it is 
remembered, however, that it was American cotton goods, 
because of their low price, heavy make, and toughness to 
stand washing, that drove out of the Manchurian market the 
English sheetings and drills reigning supreme fifteen years 
ago, America, if she has today the losing end of the bargain, 
"cannot complain that Japan has not given her a "square 
deal." Further it must be added with emphasis that, if the 
American cotton industry has suffered to some extent in 
Manchuria by Japanese competition, the American cotton 
growers have by no means been losers. The raw cotton 
imported in 1910 from the United States to supply Japanese 
cotton mills was valued at 17,193,128 yen. The American 
cotton import of 1911 reached a phenomenal value of sixty 
miUion yen! We can see no reason why the cause of man- 
ufacturers alone should find its defenders, while that of the 
farmers is left unnoticed. 

Neither is the decline of American import of cotton cloth 
confined to the Manchurian field, nor is it the sole cause of 
the loss of American trade in the Far East. Even in the 
Philippines, under the very eyes of the American eagle, there 
has been a marked advance in the import of the Japanese 
cotton cloth. Still more glaring is the fact that the phe- 
nomenon of the decrease of American trade is observable 
in the whole of China. Mr. Frederick McCormick in a 



JAPAN IN SOUTH MANCHURIA 267 

striking article ''American Defeat in the Pacific," which 
appeared in the columns of the Outlook, January 1911, 
points out that '4t is not Japan that has slaughtered 
American trade in China," but ''those who have bene- 
fitted by Chinese industrial development and by America's 
losses are the capitalistic nations of Europe." The reasons 
he assigns for the decline of American trade are: (1) 
"that in all the more important lines, such as cottons, flour, 
and steel, sales and distributions are in the hands of for- 
eigners and are left to shift for themselves;" (2) "that the 
American trade in China receives no assistance from the 
American nation." The writer lodges a complaint against 
the American trader, naively adding that "he wants to sell 
to the Chinese not what the Chinese want, but what the 
American trader wants them to want." The time seems, 
then, to have come to look into the Manchurian commercial 
situation with proper insight instead of attributing every- 
thing to the wickedness of Japan's playing a MachiavelH. 

Japan's Monopolistic Policy and the "Open Door" 

^ What seems to lie at the bottom of the various complaints 
lodged against Japan by well-meant Anglo-American critics 
is their dislike of the excessive governmental activity in those 
enterprises which are undertaken in Anglo-Saxondom by 
private individuals. Japan has created state monopolies 
of tobacco, camphor and opium in Formosa; nationalized 
the railways; granted subsidies to steamship lines; and given 
aids to many industries. In Manchuria the Japanese 
government has the controlling voice in the South Man- 
churian Railroad Company. We have seen how wide and 
varied are the operations of the company. Indeed so all 
pervading seems the activity of the company in almost every 
sphere of life that one is led to doubt whether there is any 
room for private enterprises in south Manchuria. With the 
inborn Anglo-American hatred against the too-powerful 
governmental control, the critics look upon Japan's Man- 
churian system as a machine invented to stifle and defy com- 
petition. What adds to their spite are the red-tape, the 



268 TOYOKICHI lYENAGA 

excessive importance assumed by the minor officials of the 
railroad company, the haughty attitude of Japanese towards 
the natives, and the air of exclusiveness the islanders have 
not yet succeeded in getting rid of. 

* This, however, is an Anglo-American critic's point of 
view. While wishing on our part that a more free and liberal 
atmosphere be infused into Japan's Manchurian regime, and 
that the unhealthy state of things therein, owing to the lack 
of individual initiatives, gradually mend itself, we must 
say that the prejudice of the western critic should not blind 
him to the fact that it is entirely within Japan's sphere to 
pursue at home whatever policy she deems it best to serve 
the interest of the nation, and, knowing her own weakness, to 
adopt in Manchuria within the bounds prescribed by trea- 
ties such proper measures as to ensure her strength in the 
face of keen international competition. No more can the 
critic protest against Japan's policy of granting subsidies 
and aids to different industrial concerns, than the latter 
can complain of America, who, in order to protect her indus- 
try, collects a duty of 50 per cent upon all imports of Jap- 
anese manufactured silk, and 60 per cent upon porcelain 
wares. 

That Japan is sincere in her attachment to the principle of 
the ''open door" and equal opportunity to all can never be 
questioned. Not only does the pledge so often made demand 
its fulfillment, but it is the true interest of Japan to invite 
the coming of foreigners for trade, and the investment of 
their capital in Manchuria. And how can this end be at- 
tained but by proving Japan's honest intention to share 
with foreign merchants and capitaUsts the profits of trade 
and industry in the region? The short-sighted policy of 
exclusiveness, if ever tried, will sound the death-knell to 
Japan's prestige and career in Manchuria. 

Russia's Attitude Toward Japan and its Resultant 

In formulating the Manchurian program, be it remem- 
bered, there were underlying it, beside the economic ground 
already explained, some poUtical and mihtary considera- 



JAPAN IN SOUTH MANCHURIA 269 

tions of greatest importance to Japan. First of all, there 
was the attitude of Russia that needed close study. That 
attitude towards Japan was for some time after the war, as 
might be expected, not altogether reassuring. Not only was 
there a powerful faction in Russian society, which openly 
advocated the war of revenge, often voiced by the Novoe 
Vremya, but the Russian government itself never relaxed its 
effort to strengthen its Far Eastern position. No sooner 
had it recovered from the shock of revolution than the gov- 
ernment decided to construct at a cost of 200,000,000 rubles 
the Amur Railway, which, when completed, will run along 
the north bank of the river for 700 miles, and make possible 
the through communication from Moscow to Vladivostock 
on the all-Russian territory. 

More significant from the Japanese standpoint is the plan 
of doubhng the track of the Siberian Railway. It is now 
vigorously pushed, and by 1915 will probably be the accom- 
pHshed fact. Japan, fully conversant with the masterly 
performance of Prince Khilkoff, which was chiefly respon- 
sible in saving General Kuropatkin from greater disasters 
than what overtook him at Liaoyang and Mukden, is justi- 
fied in looking with fear upon this mighty military weapon 
when double- tracked. It has been estimated by some ex- 
perts that the single-tracked Siberian road attained toward 
the end of the war the maximum capacity of transporting 
per month 60,000 troops, with all their equipment. The new 
road might then enable Russia to amass on the frontier of 
Manchuria an army of a million men, double the strength 
of General Linievitch's Grand Manchurian Army, within 
less than a year. Moreover, the Russian government formu- 
lated after the war a policy "to dispatch every year half a 
million colonists from European Russia to the Amur, Baikal, 
and coast provinces." Though the policy does not seem to 
work out as desired, yet the plan to raise a strong army out 
of the mujiks thus settled will see its consummation in not 
a distant day. ''General Kuropatkin is said to have re- 
cently remarked" writes Dr. Hirano in the Japanese maga- 
zine. New Japan, '*'\that Russia should make the Eastern 
Chinese Railway her first line of defense and the Amur 



270 TOYOKICHI lYENAGA 

river and the Amur Railwaj^ respectively the second and 
third hnes. The General's remark shows with what wisdom 
and scrupulosity Russia is making preparations for future 
emergencies in the eastern world." 

Russia apparently has already buried her hatchet. Her 
friendship with Japan is, thanks to wise diplomacy on both 
sides, becoming closer and closer. Their manifest common 
interests and destinies in the Far East will tend more and 
more to their cooperation. In this connection it is proper 
to say that Japan has never been slow, as shown in the diplo- 
matic negotiations prior to the outbreak of the war, to recog- 
nize the Russian special rights and privileges in Manchuria, 
to which Russia justly laid claim by her civihzing efforts 
undertaken at a great cost. Although her mistaken aggres- 
sive policy is responsible for her Manchurian disasters of 
1904-05, Russia has never forfeited her claims to those rights 
and privileges in Manchuria except those she transferred to 
Japan by the Portsmouth treaty. This liberal attitude of 
Japan and the willingness of Russia to join hands with the 
former foe in the solution of the Manchurian question are the 
foundation of their recent entente. And yet no one can blame 
Japan in taking proper measures for the defense of her own 
interest. When seen in this light, the strong pressure Japan 
exerted upon China to carry into effect the improvement of 
the Antung-Mukden line, and Japan's proposal to China 
to construct jointly the Changchun-Kirin-Hoiryong-Chong- 
jin line, will become more intelligible. 

China's Weakness and its Consequences 

"^Another factor Japan had to reckon with was of course 
China. Restored by Japan to its owner, the destiny of 
Manchuria necessarily hung upon the sovereign power. 
China, however, belonged to the category of unknown quan- 
tities. To find the true value of this unknown quantity was 
what taxed Japan's brain most. Two ways naturally pre- 
sented themselves for consideration. In the first place there 
was the so-called ''Awakening of China." The China- Japan 
war, the Boxer episode, and the Russo-Japanese war un- 



JAPAN IN SOUTH MANCHURIA 271 

doubtedly shook China rudely from her centuries-old leth- 
argy. Through these agencies the national consciousness 
came suddenly into being, manifesting itself in the ''right- 
recovery" and constitutional movements. The Chinese 
government itself showed its disposition to set the house in 
order. Some reforms were, in fact, initiated. For military 
purposes it was declared that China would organize thirty- 
seven army divisions. The late war minister. General Yin- 
Tchang, had in his pocket, it was said, the plan of expanding 
these to seventy divisions. 

\ Such a formidable military organization, if perfected and 
used to wreak vengeance upon Japan for the humiliation of 
1895 or any other grudge China might have, would cer- 
tainly be a terrible menace to the Island Empire. It was 
manifestly the anticipation of the dawn of such days that 
induced Professor Jenks of Cornell University to offer the 
good intentioned advice to Japan to get out of Manchuria, 
and thus court the good grace of China. It was not, how- 
ever, this forecast of China's strength that specially troubled 
Japan. It was, on the contrary, the inherent weakness of 
China that caused much apprehension on the part of the 
Mikado's empire. Had China been strong, there would have 
been no Manchurian question. Were she to become truly 
strong, the question would be simplified. It is to the true 
interest of Japan to see China wide awake, reformed, and 
strong; for in such an event even had Japan to give up the 
Manchurian railroads and the Kwantung Province, she 
would be amply compensated by the expansion of her trade 
with her friendly and prosperous neighbor. Unfortunately, 
such happy days seemed to the eyes of Japan too far away. 
The half-hearted pohcy of reform and the time-honored 
diplomacy China pursued, in spite of the terrible lessons of 
warning brought home to her, gave Japan every reason to 
take a pessimistic view. The recent paralysis of the Chinese 
government, so complete, so pitiful, in the face of the revo- 
lutionary crisis, too well proves that Japan's fear was not 
misplaced and sufficiently vindicates her past Manchurian 
policy. Indeed, this denouement, whose outcome it is yet 
difficult to foresee, is a thousand times more eloquent than 



272 TOYOKICHI lYENAGA 

words. It makes useless our task of explaining further the 
drift things were taking in the past. Here we only add our 
prayer that the present political upheaval of China, ex- 
tremely to be regretted as it is, will be but the throes of her 
re-birth — a prelude to the bright days to come. 
' Suffice it to say, then, that the cardinal points of Japan's 
Manchurian policy — the preservation of the fruits of war, or, 
in diplomatic language the maintenance of the status quo, 
and that of peace in the Far East — were in constant danger 
of being overturned by the weakness of China. 

^ This meant, on one hand, the possibility of encroachment 
of Russia from the north, that might bring to naught Japan's 
efforts of 1904-05. On the other hand, China's weakness 
opens a way to the introduction of a third power, or other 
powers, into the council-board of Manchuria, that might 
force Japan to repeat the bitter experience of 1895. All 
these considerations made it incumbent upon Japan to take 
proper precautionary measures to guard herself against 
future emergencies, and to strengthen her position in south 
Manchuria. 

American-Japanese Relation and the Manchurian 

Question 

It is but natural that Japan should look with extreme 
apprehension upon an intrusion of a Third Power, or other 
Powers, into the Manchurian arena, lest she be deprived of 
the fruits of war secured at such an enormous cost by those 
who have wasted therein neither a cent nor a drop of blood. 
An illuminating example was set before her not many years 
ago. Whatever the intention of the author of the neutral- 
ization scheme of the' Manchurian railroads, it completely 
ignored history. It is but simple justice that Russia and 
Japan should have in the solution of the Manchurian ques- 
tion the voice their paramount interests entitle them to 
command. That the American government acquiesced in 
the failure of the neutralization plan through the refusal 
of Russia and Japan to entertain it demonstrates the dis- 
interested motive of the proposal. 



JAPAN IN SOUTH MANCHURIA 273 

iWhen, therefore, Mr. Willard Straight says that 'Ho create 
a substantial foreign commercial interest, and by so doing 
secure a political safeguard for the ''Three Eastern Prov- 
inces," is as necessary to China's welfare, as the maintenance 
of her integrity and the preservation of the "Open Door" 
are essential to the realization of the well-warranted hopes 
for the future of our Eastern markets," we are constrained 
• to raise a dissenting voice to the first part of his statement, 
which implies an aggressive political-commercial campaign 
of serious import. The declaration is tantamount to the 
confession that the furtherance of commercial interests will 
be used for political purposes. An American commercial 
campaign in Manchuria, if conducted with such an end in 
view, is bound to result in much irritation to the other vitally 
interested powers, if not in grave consequences. It is 
neither wise nor just. And it is the firm conviction of the 
speaker that the majority of the American people would 
endorse his view point rather than that of the representative 
in China of the powerful American syndicate. For it passes 
my belief that the wisdom of the essentially sane and prac- 
tical people to whom Manchuria means nothing but a com- 
mercial and industrial field, where they have no historical, 
political, or military interests at stake, will ever allow their 
national policy to be harnessed to the financial machine of 
the money power, and be driven at its beck over the road 
that might lead them to grave issues. 

^ So far as the American-Japanese relation is concerned, it 
will not be too presuming to say that there are no questions 
of importance, except the one under discussion, that are 
likely to endanger the long standing friendship between the 
two nations. Nothing explains better the attitude of the 
Japanese nation toward America than the conversation 
published by the Jiji Shimpo of September 15, 1911, be- 
tween President Jordan of Leland Stanford University and 
Baron Shibusawa. The gist of this is that the Baron, after 
assuring the American visitor of the unchanging kindly and 
grateful feeling Japan has toward America, observed that 
his nation cannot feel sure of the friendship of the United 
States until a better understanding than the one reflected 



274 TOYOKICHI lYENAGA 

in the neutralization proposal of Secretary Knox is attained 
on Japan's position in Manchuria. Is, then, the Manchurian 
question worth to Americans the cost of the Russian and 
Japanese friendship? 

The foregoing are, then, the historical, political, military 
and economic grounds that have secured to Japan her present 
position in south Manchuria. Her future conduct will 
doubtless be governed accordingly. So long as this special 
position is fully recognized by other nations, there is no 
reason whatever why Japan should not welcome their co- 
operation in the development of Manchuria. Especially 
with her ally and friend. Great Britain and the United States, 
whose capitalistic power is paramount among nations, Japan 
must be extremely soUcitous to join hands for the exploita- 
tion of the resources of south Manchuria. 



JAPAN'S ANNEXATION OF KOREA 

By ToyokicM lyenaga, Ph.D., Professorial Lecturer in 
Political Science, University of Chicago 

Japan was prompted to take the decisive step of annexing 
Korea for reasons that are easily understood. They are: 
(1) to insure her own national safety; (2) to assure endur- 
ing peace in the Far East by eliminating one of the most 
fruitful sources of disturbance; (3) to promote the welfare 
and prosperity of the Koreans; (4) to do away with the 
disadvantages, administrative and financial, of a dual 
system of government — the residency general and the Ko- 
rean government; (5) to consolidate the identical interests 
of Japan and Korea in the Far East by the amalgamation 
of two peoples whose similarity in race and past culture 
makes such a task possible. 

\ From the strategic standpoint, Korea is to the Japanese 
Empire as a spear pointed at its heart. Whatever nation 
holds this weapon becomes supremely important to Japan. 
Korea, even in the days of junks, if in the possession of a 
powerful monarch, must of necessity have been a constant 
menace to the safety of Nippon; but in this age of steam, when 
the Korean Strait has been transformed into a mere ribbon 
of silver, the installment of a strong hostile power in the 
peninsula would prove the death-blow to the aspirations, 
if not the very existence, of the mikado's empire. No 
question, therefore, has exercised a more powerful influence 
upon the course of the New Japan than this Korean problem. 
^ The history of the Japanese-Korean relations during the 
three decades that intervene between the conclusion of the 
first treaty of amity and commerce in 1876 and the estab- 
lishment of a protectorate in 1907 is in reality the story of 
Japan's attempt to safeguard her security by the mainte- 
nance of Korea as a buffer state. The first trial Japan faced 
to test the strength of this political doctrine came naturally 

275 



276 TOYOKICHI lYENAGA 

from China, which has always striven to lay a shadowy 
claim of sovereignty over Korea. The China- Japan war 
of 1894-1895 resulted in the complete political effacement 
of China from Korea, and the definite recognition of Korean 
independence by the powers. Thus for a tune the buffer 
state theory seemed vindicated. China ousted, however, 
Japan found herself confronted in Korea by another formi- 
dable power. The struggle of 1904-1905, undertaken at 
an enormous expenditure of blood and treasure, finally 
drove Russia out of Korea, and at the same time fully con- 
vinced Japan of the futihty of an attempt to seek her sal- 
vation by dreams made of such stuffs as those of a strong 
Korean nationaUty. Through these two costly experiments 
Japan learned that something decisive must be done with 
this country, which, while its interests and destiny are so 
closely allied with those of Japan, cannot maintain its own 
independence. 

So, after the Portsmouth and the Anglo-Japanese treaty 
of 1905 had definitely recognized Japan's paramount position 
in Korea, the first task Japan undertook to accomplish was 
to eliminate from Korea the danger of any foreign compli- 
cations that might again invite foreign intervention. By 
the agreement signed in November, 1905, the Japanese gov- 
ernment took into its hands the management of Korean 
foreign affairs. 

\ After this important step was taken, Japan began in good 
earnest to put the Korean house in order. For this purpose 
it was agreed that a resident general, representing the Jap- 
anese government, should reside at Seoul. At first his power 
was purely advisory. But it was soon found that the op- 
tional method was doomed to failure, for the Korean gov- 
ernment, free to adopt or reject at will the advice of the 
resident general, usually chose the latter alternative, and 
as a consequence by the agreement of 1907 the power of 
the resident general was vastly increased. He was given 
the power to initiate as well as to direct measures of admin- 
istration, to enact and enforce laws and ordinances, to appoint 
and dismiss high Korean officials, and to appoint to any 
public posts, except to the ministerial seats in the Cabinet, 



japan's annexation of KOREA 277 

any Japanese subjects of his choice. Korea, in short, was 
brought under the protectorate of Japan. 
' The importance Japan attached to the work of pacifying 
and regenerating Korea is shown by the fact that she sent as 
the first resident general her foremost statesman, Prince Ito. 
With sincere devotion to the cause of Korea, he brought 
to the task all the wisdom, experience, and prestige gained 
during his long service to his fatherland. After three years 
of arduous labor he succeeded in conciliating the court 
and silencing the opposition, in evolving some order out of 
chaos, and inaugurating many reforms the benefits of which 
have been lasting. 

But even the statesmanship of Ito was not equal to the 
task of curing the cancer that had eaten deep into the heart 
of Korea. The surgical operation needed was left to Prince 
Katsura, the former premier. Throughout his administra- 
tion. Prince Ito had hoped by pursuing the policy of concili- 
ation and uplift, to make Korea capable of standing on its 
own feet. He was, however, forced to acknowledge, after 
the most sincere efforts to teach Koreans the science of 
statecraft, that they would never be able to govern them- 
selves. The first public intimation of this conviction was 
made in April, 1909, when Prince Ito, speaking before Ko- 
rean tourists said that Japan and Korea had hitherto stood 
side by side, but that they should now proceed together 
and form one empire. 

Some publicists have asserted that the tragic death of 
Ito at Harbin sealed the fate of Korea. Nothing is further 
from the truth. That Prince Ito retired from the residency 
generalship some months before his assassination without 
any apparent valid cause, goes to show that he had already 
become convinced that annexation was inevitable, and that 
the performance of it would better be confided to another. 
In an interview with the writer. Prince Katsura assured 
him that the measure of annexation was decided upon after 
due conference with Prince Ito, and only after it had received 
his complete endorsement. This declaration is further em- 
phasized by the fact that the first act of Count Terauchi, 
after signing the treaty of annexation, was to send from 



278 TOYOKICHI lYENAGA 

Seoul a telegraphic message to the family of the late prince 
requesting them to convey the intelligence to the spirit of 
the deceased statesman. The suggestion was carried out 
on August 30, 1910, when Prince Hirokuni Ito, as the rep- 
resentative of the family, conducted a solemn ceremonial 
service at the tomb of the illustrious dead. 

Such, then, is the short story of the successive steps lead- 
ing to the annexation. The lessons of history, extending 
through three eventful decades, taught Japan most conclu- 
sively that nothing short of annexation could solve the Ko- 
rean problem, and that only by this radical measure could 
the permanent security of Japan and the peace of the ex- 
treme East be assured. The imperial rescript proclaiming 
the annexation, therefore, begins with the declaration that 
the emperor, ''attaching the highest importance to the main- 
tenance of permanent peace in the Orient and the consoli- 
dation of lasting security to our empire and finding in Korea 
constant and fruitful sources of complication," had instituted 
a protectorate in the peninsula. The existing regime, 
however, having proved ineffective to preserve peace and 
stability, ''it has become manifest that fundamental changes 
in the present system of government are inevitable." 

Imperative as was the measure of annexation from the 
standpoint of Japan's self-preservation, still more urgent 
was its adoption from the consideration of putting an end 
to the spirit of unrest in Korea and advancing its true 
welfare. Since the establishment of the residency general, 
every effort has been made to eradicate the existing evils, 
and to promote the well-being and prosperity of the Koreans. 
The residency general can, indeed, present to us a formida- 
ble array of reform works undertaken under its auspices. 
A brief outhne of these reforms is here needed, in order to 
give us a full realization of the points wherein the protec- 
torate, in spite of its commendable efforts to introduce 
salutary reforms, has failed to bring peace and happiness 
to the Korean people. 



japan's annexation of KOREA 279 

Purification of the Court and Financial Reform 

Among the many ills afflicting Korea, no one was more 
baneful than the court, the hotbed of corruption and in- 
trigue. The functions and properties of the court were hope- 
lessly mixed with those of the state. Laws were enacted, 
and justice administered, often at the whim of the king 
or of his courtiers. Appointments of high officials were 
frequently made through the influence of court favorites. 
Sales of offices were openly advertised at the court, and, 
needless to say, the appointment went to that highest bidder, 
who knew best how to fill the royal coffers and then to re- 
imburse himself with the squeezes exacted from the people. 
Bribes and the confiscation of private property for the bene- 
fit of court officials were common. 

Almost as influential as the imperial household itself were 
its bureaus and offices which outnumbered those of the cen- 
tral government. These superfluous offices were filled with 
thousands of worthless officers, whose chief occupation was, 
when not engaged in hatching plots, to attend absurd state 
ceremonials and harmful religious rites. For these religious 
services there were employed, and often domiciled in the 
court, a crowd of soothsayers, geomancers, sorceresses, and 
others of their ilk, who through densest ignorance and 
unbridled vices added their deadly quota to the pollution 
of the court. To this long list of evildoers were further 
added unscrupulous foreign adventurers, who frequented 
the court, and busied themselves in devising grotesque 
schemes to defraud the royal treasury of its funds. What 
was its actual condition can best be imagined by the items 
of expenditure of the Imperial Household, given in the 
first report of the Japanese financial adviser. Baron Megata. 
Out of the total expenditure of 2,923,000 yen, the largest 
sum, 905,000 yen, is the item of expense for religious ob- 
servances; the sums of 432,000 yen and 220,000 yen are re- 
spectively for food and the banquets of courtiers, while but 
a paltry 25,000 yen is for the use of the imperial family. 

Out of confusion between the functions and properties 
of the state and those of the crown had resulted the chaos 



280 TOYOKICHI lYENAGA 

in the public finance. Many of the legitimate functions 
of the finance department of the Korean government had 
been usurped by the financial board of the imperial house- 
hold, in control of court upstarts. 0\\dng to the lack of 
organized method of tax collection, the court and the govern- 
ment each sent out its own agents to collect taxes and levy 
compulsory contributions upon the people. The people 
were ground between the two millstones, the court and the 
government. 

To make the confusion worse confounded, the currency 
system was in the most wretched state. The Korean metal- 
lic currency consisted of silver coins, a nickel coin of 5 sen 
and a 1 sen copper cash, the last two being most widely 
circulated. The court caring mainly for the profit derived 
from minting nickels coined the debased nickel coin to such 
an amount that its market value fell to one-half its face 
value. On the other hand, the copper cash, whose face 
value represented its actual value, often fluctuated from 
100 per cent to 60 per cent premium. To cap all, the reve- 
nue derived by the state from its people of over 12,000,000 
was only 7,480,287 yen for 1905. 

\ To make a clean sweep of the court and to rescue the 
finances of the country from certain ruin, were, therefore, 
the prime necessities of reform. In spite of the persistent 
opposition and bickerings of the court officials, the delicate 
task of cleansing the imperial household was finally accom- 
pHshed by the resident general. He "separated it effectu- 
ally from the executive ; differentiated its property from that 
of the state; purged it of a rabble of sorcerers, necromancers, 
and other scheming parasites; dismissed a host of useless 
officials; abohshed many costly and worthless ceremonials — 
792 annually were reduced to 201, while 2900 employees 
were dispensed with; repaired the palace; replaced the old- 
fashioned sedan chairs with modern carriages and the ancient 
oil lamps with electric fight ; established a museum, botan- 
ical and zoological gardens, and a library; and finally, 
reorganized the household, and placed upon its staff several 
competent Japanese officials." 



japan's annexation of KOREA 281 

Meanwhile Megata and his worthy successors under the 
residency general worked hard for financial rehabilitation. 
They adjusted the state and crown properties by bringing 
under the control of the finance department the collection 
of all taxes and by transferring into the possession of the 
state all immovable properties belonging to the crown. 
In lieu of these transfers the State became responsible for 
the liquidation of the debts hitherto contracted by the im- 
perial household, as well as for its future maintenance. The 
financial administrators further resuscitated and vigorously 
put in force the budget system; instituted the national treas- 
ury, and finally established the gold standard by withdraw- 
ing the old nickel coins and copper cash, and substituting 
them by the new sound currency. Whereas in former days 
pawnbrokers, innkeepers and the like carried on the most 
primitive kind of banking business, the residency general 
called into being various banks. Whereas formerly the 
Korean government had little or no credit to float state 
bonds, the residency general helped it to raise many public 
loans, the most important of which is that of 20,000,000 for 
the undertaking of various public works. By these salutary 
measures the revenue of the Korean Treasury has doubled 
itself within half a decade, and a brighter era has dawned 
upon the financial world of Korea. 

Reform in the Administration of Justice and Prisons 

In Korea the judiciary and the executive were formerly 
not separated. Provincial governors, prefects, and district 
magistrates discharged judicial functions in their executive 
capacity. Under such a system there was no limit to the 
evil done. ''Civil cases were usually determined in favor 
of the longest purse, and criminal ones depended on the 
arbitrary will of a tyro sitting in judgment; a witness 
generally ranked as particeps criminis, and evidence was 
usually extorted by torture." Floggings were often so 
severely administered as to render the victim a cripple for 
life^ if he did not die under the infliction. Innocent persons 



282 TOYOKICHI lYENAGA 

were often thrown into jails by the executive, either to extort 
money or to wreak personal vengeance. Prisons attached 
to governor's yamen were shocking dungeons. In winter 
the prisoners were sometimes frozen to death, and in sum- 
mer fell victims to suffocation or epidemic diseases. 
\ All these abuses have been thoroughly reformed. Several 
well administered prisons have been opened, where sanitary 
measures are rigorously enforced; special rooms set apart 
for female prisoners and the sick; reUgious teaching given 
by Christian and Buddhist teachers; and out-door work 
introduced to give air and exercise to prisoners. The judi- 
ciary is now independent of the executive. Torture has 
been abolished; Koreans have been trained to serve as bar- 
risters; a penal code has been framed; temporary regulations 
for civil and criminal procedure enacted, which are soon 
to be replaced by a civil code and a code of civil and crirninal 
procedure; and finally the rights of an individual to enjoy 
his life and property fully guaranteed. 

Establishment of an Educational System 

^ Until recently Korea had no regular system of public 
education. The institutions in existence were of the most 
primitive order. In a village there was a Clu-pung, where 
the village dominie gathered about him the children of the 
neighborhood and taught them the rudiments of reading 
and writing. In each district there was the Han-gio, main- 
tained by government patronage or donations of private 
individuals, where were received the students of Clu-pung 
desirous for more advanced study of Chinese. And finally, 
as the highest seat of Confucian learning, there was in Seoul 
the Syong-Kyun-Koan, where instruction was given in Chi- 
nese classics. The method of teaching in vogue in these so- 
called schools was patterned after that of China, and, while 
this was bad, the Korean was still worse. This is not sur- 
prising since the pedagogical profession had fallen into hope- 
less disrepute. "The traditional Korean school-teacher," 
says an eye witness, "is looked upon as more or less of a 
mendicant. 'Only the poorest will engage in this work, 



japan's annexation of KOREA 283 

/ 

and they do it on a pittance, which just keeps them above 
the starvation Hne." Modern education in scientific and 
useful subjects was an unknown thing in most parts of the 
country. The only beam of light that pierced the Korean 
night came from the lamp burning in the missionary 
schools. 

V The work of the residency general was thus nothing less 
than the creation of an entirely new system of public edu- 
cation. The educational authorities wisely planned not 
to destroy at one stroke the old educational structures but 
to utilize them as far as possible, and replace them gradually 
by something better, and to establish the modern schools 
which will serve as models to Koreans, hoping that they 
will come to build such schools of their own accord. The 
system of education inaugurated was somewhat the same 
as that adopted in Japan, with modifications adapted to 
the degree of intelligence and conditions prevailing in Korea. 
There are thus public common schools, high schools, and 
normal and technical schools. There were at the time of 
the annexation 60 common schools, 9 high schools, 1 normal 
school, 1 foreign language school, 1 medical school, 1 commer- 
cial school, 1 industrial training school, and 1 agricultural 
and forestry school. 

The slowness of the educational pace was due to the lack 
of money, the scarcity of native teachers, as well as to the 
peculiar educational difficulty Japan had to face. 

Natural Resources of Korea and their Development 

While the financial, judicial, and educational reforms 
were thus vigorously pushed, the cause of material develop- 
ment was no less sedulously cared for. To facilitate trans- 
portation, 640 miles of railroads have been constructed; 
7682 miles of telegraph, and 7931 miles of telephone wires 
laid; highways repaired or constructed; posts and parcel 
posts organized; and steamship lines opened. 

The natural resources of Korea are not so limited as its 
present extreme poverty might imply. Gold, lead, iron, 
copper, and coal are found in the northern mountains. But 



284 TOYOKICHI lYENAGA 

except the gold mines worked by Americans at Unsan, and 
a few coal mine? at Pjdng-Yang and other localities, the 
subsoil is almost left unexploited. Manufacturing industry- 
can hardly be said to exist. The Korean waters helped 
by the Black Current, teem with fish, and with the exten- 
sive sea coast, they are ideal fisheries. But the fishing 
method is so primitive that the annual catch by Kore- 
ans amounts to only 3,000,000 yen. The chief wealth of 
Korea lies at present in its agricultural products. Rice, 
barley, wheat, and beans are the principal products. Their 
total annual crop is about 14,000,000 koku (approximately 
70,000,000 bushels) which at rough estimate is worth 110,- 
000,000 yen. By improvement in agriculture this annual 
crop can be vastly increased, perhaps doubled. Further, 
incredible as it may seem, the indolence and stupidity of 
Koreans have left nine-tenths of their country as waste land 
or denuded mountains. Sixty-six per cent of the country's 
cultivable area lies fallow! 

The residency general, therefore, bent its energy to im- 
prove agricultural methods, encourage industry, and develop 
other natural resources. It helped to organize the Oriental 
Development Company, whose business is to reclaim waste 
lands, to accommodate farmers with lands, seeds, implements, 
and shelters, and to engage in other undertakings deemed 
necessary for the development of the country. The resi- 
dency general has also established a horticultural station, 
nursery gardens, irrigation reservoirs, and a model farm at 
Suwon, with four branches at Mokpo, Kunsan, Pying-Yang 
and Taiku. The director of the Suwon Station, Dr. Honda, 
told the writer that by agricultural improvements it will 
not be difficult to increase the present crop of cereals in 
Korea by 40 per cent. 

No less commendable is the work of afforestation. No 
feature of Korea strikes its first visitor more than the ugly 
barrenness of its hills and mountains. This is, however, 
due not to the niggardliness of Nature, but to the reckless 
felling of trees by the people for fuel, and to despotism. 
It is said that when Tai-Won-Kun built his costly palace 
at Seoul, the people, in order to escape the forced contribu- 



japan's annexation of KOREA 285 

tions for tall trees, and for labor to convey them to the 
capital, cut them down and burned them. This deforestation 
of mountains is a principal cause of injury to agriculture. 
To mend this, model forests have been established where 
are planted milhons of young trees imported from Japan, 
and every effort is made to afforest the bare mountains 
throughout the country. 

How the reform work inaugurated by Japan stimulated 
the activity of Korea in various spheres of its life is plainly 
shown by the phenomenal growth of its commerce. The total 
of its foreign trade in 1903, the year before Japan's inter- 
vention, barely reached the mark of 28,000,000 yen, while 
the figures for 1910 stood at 59,500,000 — an increase of 
106 per cent within less than a decade. 

Results of Japanese Enterprise 

The results of Japanese enterprise under the regime of 
protectorate in Korea above sketched, are summed up by 
Captain Brinkley, editor of the Japan Mail, in these words : 

In less than a decade Japan has served up for her neighbor's 
nourishment all the fruits of her own activities during a cycle of 
unprecedentedly crowded life In their cities Kore- 
ans no longer live in perpetual contact with accumulated filth. 
In their passage from place to place they have ceased to rely solely 
on sedan chairs and ponies, as railways and electric trains have 
become available. In agriculture they have model farms to 
guide them, and the most fruitful seeds are at their disposal. 
In the hour of sickness they command expert medical aid or facile 
access to well-equipped hospitals. In their chief towns they drink 
pure water from modern aqueducts instead of the contents of 
contaminated wells. In educating their children they have the 
use of schools where the most serviceable branches of modern 
knowledge are taught. When they are wronged they can count on 
justice instead of extortion, and in their daily existence they are 
beginning to know the blessings of security of life and property. 

Fundamental Remedy Lacking in the Regime of 
Protectorate — Its Drawbacks 

- Why did this enterprise bring no commensurate blessing 
upon Koreans? Why have they turned their backs upon 
all these gifts? Why was Japan forced to confess after the 



286 TOYOKICHI lYENAGA 

trial of three years, that she failed to find in the regime 
of a protectorate sufficient hope for the realization of her 
object, and that the ^'condition of unrest and disquietude 
still prevails throughout the whole peninsula?" In spite 
of the utmost efforts which Japan exerted to cure the Korean 
patient, there was one fundamental remedy lacking under 
the old prescription. The patient's mind was ill at ease. 
Medicines and nutritious food produced little effect unfil 
the peace of his spirit was restored. Koreans had always 
looked with suspicion upon the doings of Japan. Their 
ideas of loyalty and patriotism could find no reconcihation 
with that of submission to Japan. Insurgency was, there- 
fore, often looked upon as the act of devotion to the Korean 
emperor. The murderer of Prince Ito and the would-be 
assassin of Premier Yi were hailed in some quarters as heroes. 
These criminal ideas were further utilized by a host of thieves 
who infested the land, and now comfortably adopted the 
dual profession of insurgent and brigand. To cut down 
these robbers and stamp out the insurrection, Japan was 
forced to organize a large body of police and gendarmerie, 
in addition to the garrison army of a division and a half. 
During four years these forces have shot over 14,000 of 
these insurgents, which naturally accentuated the bitter 
feeUngs of Koreans toward Japanese. And yet the insur- 
gency was far from being wiped out. 
' The regime of protectorate thus not only failed to bring 
peace to Korea, but carried with it certain drawbacks that 
tied down the hands of Japanese administrators. The fol- 
lowing is a single instance. One of the serious difficulties 
Japan met in solving the Korean educational problem was 
how to adapt and apply its fundamental principle of educa- 
tion in Korea. Japan's cardinal ethic of a good citizenship 
is loyalty and patriotism. It is inculcated in the minds of 
her sons and daughters, from the students of common schools 
to those of universities. Taught to the Korean youths, this 
moral weapon becomes two-edged. Misapplied, it is suicidal 
to Japan. The Japanese educators in Korea were, therefore, 
extremely solicitous to impart to the Korean children the 
correct understanding of this moral teaching. They them- 



japan's annexation of KOREA 287 

selves compiled most of the text-books for schools, and 
prohibited the use of other books than those that had 
passed their rigid inspection. It is, however, difficult to 
see how such a temporary makeshift could succeed in pre- 
venting Koreans from their ultimate disillusionment. For so 
long as Korea retained its own king and semi-independence, 
it is but natural and logical that Koreans should devote 
their loyalty and patriotism to their own emperor and 
country. And who could blame them for that? The more 
Koreans were imbued with the spirit of loyalty and patriot- 
ism, the more they were fired with the zeal to liberate their 
country from the grasp of Japan, however Utopian that 
might be. Such misguided youths either swelled the ranks 
of insurgents or turned assassins of ministers of state. The 
moral lesson taught by Japan was, therefore, in a sense, 
equivalent to adding fuel to the fire of insurgency. The 
difficulty of ruling Korea under the regime of a protectorate 
was, in essence, the same as Americans, who preach at home 
the doctrine of independence and state rights, experienced in 
ruling the Phihppines, until to the Filipinos were given some 
measure of self-government and a hope of entire independ- 
ence. In the case of Korea, the only exit from the dilemma 
was found in the measure, whereby Korea becomes an inte- 
gral part of the Japanese Empire, and Koreans the loyal 
subjects of the Japanese Emperor. 

Disadvantages of the Dual System of Government 

Beside the fundamental drawback in the regime of pro- 
tectorate above stated, there were other disadvantages 
that are more or less inherent in a dual system of government. 
These were administrative and financial. It might be imag- 
ined that the various reform works hitherto undertaken 
for the good of Korea were wholly at the expense of the 
Korean government. Far from it. The burden of defraying 
the cost of most of these reforms had been shouldered by 
the Japanese treasury. Such were the cost of initiating and 
completing the judicial and prison reforms, of establishing 
educational institutions, of sustaining the army and gen- 



288 TOYOKICHI lYENAGA 

darmerie for the maintenance of peace and order, of con- 
structing and running the organs of communications — 
railroads, telegraphs, telephones — of maintaining the resi- 
dency general, and of undertaking various public works. 
For the latter purpose the Japanese government lent to 
the Korean government over 14,000,000 yen free of interest 
and without fixed period of redemption. All these imposed 
on the Japanese treasury an average annual outlay of 28,000,- 
000 yen for the period of five years — 1906-1910 — making 
the total of 143,016,057 yen. This does not include the 
cost of building the railroad for which Japan spent another 
90,000,000 yen. This financial burden had to be borne by 
the Japanese government without complete financial control 
over the Korean exchequer. 

Further, there was an administrative disadvantage in 
the regime of a protectorate. Without dilating upon the 
details, it suffices us to say that the protectorate, consisting 
of the residency general and the Korean government, was 
a cumbersome governmental machinery. Each had its 
own department and bureaus; each its own staff of officials 
and employees. That such a complex machinery lacked 
smooth working even under the leadership of Ito is too well 
proved by the frequent changes made in the organization 
of its parts. It is then but proper that a way was sought 
to mend this lack of harmony in administrative organiza- 
tion at the jBrst opportunity. That way was found in the 
simple and unified organization of the government general, 
which resembles in main the government of Formosa under 
Japanese rule. 

Peaceful Accomplishment of Annexation and the 
Method Adopted 

\ Count Terauchi has accomplished with consummate tact 
the work of annexation. To carry out the program there 
were two ways which naturally suggested themselves. 
One was by the exercise of sovereign power on the part of 
the Japanese emperor, which however, implied the use of 



japan's annexation of KOREA 289 

force. The other was by an agreement with Korea, with 
the full consent of the Korean emperor and government. 
It was obvious that the second method of procedure was 
decidedly preferable, and, as a consequence, the Japanese 
government, after formulating its policy in July, 1909, for 
the eventual annexation of Korea, waited only for an oppor- 
tune time for its prosecution. In May, 1910, the govern- 
ment directed the resident general, Count Terauchi, who 
had succeeded Viscount Sone, to proceed to his post. He 
was in receipt of the necessary instructions authorizing him 
to arrange for the annexation. Early in August the count 
opened the discussion of the subject with the Korean govern- 
ment. Several other conferences followed, and the final 
phase of the negotiation is told by Count Terauchi himself 
in a document which he courteously sent me, and which, 
having a historical interest, is produced here: 

The Korean Court and the Government, assured of the wisdom 
of our Emperor and of the liberal attitude of His Majesty's Govern- 
ment, came to repose implicit confidence in us, so that during the 
negotiations all our proposals were accepted save only those deal- 
ing with the new name of the Peninsula and future title of the 
Imperial Family. We proposed that its members should bear the 
title of Taiko (Grand Duke) , but the Korean authorities demanded 
for them the title of Wang (Prince), and that the name of the 
Peninsula should be Chosen. These conditions were agreed to. 
In all other respects the negotiations were very smoothly con- 
ducted. A final meeting of the Korean authorities was held in 
the presence of the Korean Emperor, attended by all the mem- 
bers of the Cabinet, together with Prince Yi-Keui, the uncle 
of the Emperor, representing the Imperial Family, Kim-in-Sik, 
President of the Central Council, representing the Elder States- 
men, the Minister of the Imperial Household, Lord Chamberlain, 
Chief of the Body Guard, and Chief of the Emperor's aides- 
de-camp. At this meeting the Emperor dwelt on the amicable 
relation existing between Korea and Japan, and explained the 
advisability of amalgamating both nations in order to place their 
mutual benefit and welfare on a permanent basis. This was fol- 
lowed by the reading of His Majesty's proclamation, and the 
investment of the Prime Minister, Yi Wang Yong, with full power 
to conclude the treaty of annexation. Thus authorized, the 
Premier produced the draft of the treaty for imperial inspection. 
He explained its provisions clause by clause, and upon obtaining 
the imperial sanction to it repaired to the ofiice of the Resident- 



290 TOYOKICHI lYENAGA 

General. The Premier assured me that everything was prepared, 
and nothing was left undone which was considered necessary for 
the execution of the compact. The treaty was then signed by 
him and by me." 

The annexation treaty was signed on the afternoon of 
August 22, 1910, and promulgated on the 29th of the same 
month. By the treaty the Korean emperor ceded all 
rights of sovereignty over Korea to the emperor of Japan. 
Korea is now re-christened Chosen, the ancient title of the 
peninsula. The security and dignity of the Korean imperial 
house are sustained by the guarantee of the Japanese govern- 
ment for its perpetual maintenance, with the generous 
annual allowance of 1,500,000 yen. Japan thus fulfills her 
pledge to maintain the safety and dignity of the Korean 
imperial house made in the convention of November 17, 
1906, which replaced and superseded the agreement of July 
23, 1905, in which it was stipulated that Japan would guar- 
antee the independence and integritj^ of Korea. The last 
promise was not given in the convention of 1906. The 
Korean emperor now becomes Prince Li Wang. Upon 
the other members of the imperial family the appropriate 
titles are also given, with grants of sufficient allowances. 
Seventy-two peers of Chosen have been created to reward 
the elder statesmen, cabinet members, and others who have 
rendered meritorious services to the state, with generous 
gifts of money ranging from 25,000 yen to 100,000 yen. 
For this purpose, and to give employment to the desti- 
tute of the Yang-ban class, the sum of 13,000,000 yen was 
allotted. The membership of the central council, composed 
exclusively of Koreans, was also increased, so as to admit 
many statesmen who can reasonably claim a voice in Korean 
affairs. Local councils have been organized in various prov- 
inces for the purpose of consulting the Koreans themselves 
about the management of their own affairs. 

In order to relieve the suffering of the people, and that 
they may appreciate the blessings of the new regime, the 
land taxes in arrears have been remitted, and the land tax 
for the year 1910 reduced by one-fifth of the rate. In addi- 
tion, the sum of 17,398,000 yen was distributed among the 



japan's annexation of KOREA 291 

people, portioned out to 12 municipalities and 317 rural 
districts. 

The object of this grant was to instruct Koreans in the means 
of livelihood, to promote education, and to provide against bad 
crops and natural calamities. For the first mentioned purpose 
there were established altogether 35 sericultural training houses, 
21 training houses for weaving, 13 common sericultural workshops, 
8 training houses for paper making, 3 fishery training houses, 
37 seedling nurseries, 4 mulberry farms, 8 common industrial 
workshops, and 4 industrial training houses. Resident and trav- 
elling instructors for these institutions numbered some 150 in 
July, 1911. In the line of education 133 public primary schools 
and 7 industrial apprentice schools (a phenomenal increase from 
the time of the Residency-General) had been founded while a 
decision had been made that a grant-in-aid should be given to 
217 various public and private schools. 

^^ Charity hospitals and their branches have been established 
in the chief towns and cities. An amnesty to prisoners 
and criminals deserving commiseration was granted, the 
number pardoned being 1711. At the same time 12,155 
aged members of the Korean aristocracy and literati were 
granted imperial gifts, while 3209 filial sons and faithful 
wives were rewarded with suitable gifts as models to the 
people for filial piety and faithfulness. 

Religious freedom has been proclaimed. It is well worth 
adding here that the attitude of the government general of 
Chosen toward Christian missionaries and native converts 
has not undergone any change since the time of Prince Ito. 
That attitude is announced by the present governor-general 
in these words: 

It is beyond the sphere of administrative authority to interfere 
with the liberty of conscience. Confucianism, Buddhism, or 
Christianity, so far as they aim at the betterment of mankind, 
and the improvement of the mental and spiritual condition of 
the people, not only stand in no opposition to the administration 
of the country, but are calculated to aid in the good purposes of 
a government. For this reason my attitude toward any form 
of religious faith is impartial and without any prejudice. It is, 
however, absolutely necessary to separate the religious question 
from the civic, and I cannot permit any form of political inter- 
ference under the guise of a religion. 

■^ This sane but firm attitude of the present governor general 
is intelligible to those who are familiar with the conditions 



292 TOYOKICHI lYENAGA 

under the old regime of native converts, some of whom 
flocked to the standard of Christianity with the sole object 
of accomplishing their political aim, and so constituted an 
element of disturbance of civic order and peace. At the 
same time we can readily understand the solicitude of the 
government general that its position on the missionary 
question be fully appreciated by the missionary body, which 
forms not only the most powerful foreign element for good 
but the majority of the foreigners residing in Korea. Out 
of 800 foreign residents 500 are missionaries and their 
families. Cooperation, not antagonism, seems, then, to 
be the right principle of action to be adopted by both parties — 
the missionary and the government general. It will cer- 
tainly be conducive to the good of Korea for each party to 
restrict its activity to its proper domain. Happily this 
seems to be the present-day working basis of the most influ- 
ential portions of the missionary body. 

With regard to the management of the external affairs 
of Korea, Japan declared at the time of annexation the rules 
to be followed by her. These rules, in substance, pledged 
the extension to Korea of Japan's existing treaties as far 
as possible; granted all privileges that are accorded to for- 
eign residents in Japan proper; and guaranteed protection 
under Japanese jurisdiction of all legally acquired rights of 
the foreign residents in Korea. It is but logical that, since 
the treaties of Japan with foreign Powers have become oper- 
ative in Chosen, the right of extra-territoriality hitherto 
enjoyed by foreigners in Chosen should cease to have force. 
Foreigners, as a matter of fact, are no losers by the abolition 
of the consular jurisdiction for, not only do they now enjoy 
the privilege of travelling, residing, and trading in any 
part of Korea, but they are relieved from certain disadvan- 
tages inherent in the old regime, as, for instance, in appellate 
cases the necessity of travelhng to Shanghai for Anglo- 
Americans, and to Saigon for Frenchmen. And the stand- 
ard of the administration of justice in Chosen will not fall 
behind that ruling in Japan proper. That the Japanese 
government has met the foreign governments with a very 
liberal spirit is shown by the fact that, in order to prevent 



japan's annexation of koeea 293 

financial and economic disturbance, the old customs tariff 
is to be retained for a period of ten years, and further by the 
concession the Japanese government has made to the foreign 
owners of lands or mines in Korea in not subjecting them 
to the conditions and restrictions of the foreign land owner- 
ship law or of the mining law at present in force in Japan. 

Present Policy of the Government General of 

Chosen 

It now only remains for us to see the policy pursued at 
the present time by the government general of Chosen, for 
upon it rests the happiness of the new subjects of the mikado, 
''^he fundamental policy of the government," said the pres- 
ent governor general at a gubernatorial meeting held at 
Tokyo on April 15, 1911, ''is to give the people of Chosen 
the means of livelihood, to ensure the security of their lives 
and property, and to enable them to enjoy the blessing of 
an enlightened age." ''The essential point," he further 
emphasized, "is that through eradication of the distinction 
between Japanese and Koreans the weal of the greater 
nation will be promoted, and the foundation of the State 
be even more solidified." Were Koreans as different from 
Japanese in race and past civilization as Filipinos are in these 
respects from their American rulers, or Egyptians and 
Hindus from the English, annexation might still have taken 
place, but not certainly in the spirit that actuates both 
Japanese Government and people. What is aimed at is 
complete amalgamation, so that "the two peoples whose 
countries are in close proximity, whose interests are identical, 
and who are bound together with brotherly feelings, should 
amalgamate and form one body." Whatever may be the 
ethnological origin of Koreans and Japanese, it is a plain 
fact that the intermingling of blood has produced such 
similar types of the human species in both lands that one 
often finds it difficult to discover any distinction between 
the two, when the conventionalities of dress and coiffure 
are made the same. Though language is dissimilar, the 
literature is not so. Chinese literature is our common 



\'- 



294 TOYOKICHI lYENAGA 

heritage, and with it came our common ancient civiUzation. 
This identity of race, Uterature and past culture, between 
Koreans and Japanese, places the annexation of Korea in 
an entirely different category from that of Madagascar by 
France, or Hawaii by the United States. The great stress 
is, therefore, laid to obliterate the distinction between the 
two peoples, and to make the Koreans as good and loyal 
subjects of the emperor as the Japanese themselves. The 
newly created Korean nobles are accorded the same treat- 
ment at the Tokyo court as their Japanese confreres. Kore- 
ans who have received sufficient education are employed 
in the civil as well as in the military services. Unruly Jap- 
anese are strictly enjoined to behave well toward their com- 
mon nationals. 

Nor are the Koreans slow to respond to this call to broth- 
erly union. On the occasion of the emperor's birthday, 
his new subjects shout "banzai" as lustily as their brethren 
across the sea. But no better proof of the good feeling of 
the Koreans toward their new rulers can be afforded than 
the increase in the amount of taxes paid, and the expedition 
with which they were collected. In spite of the remission 
of taxes in arrears and a 5 per cent reduction of the land 
tax for the financial year of 1910-1911, the state revenue as 
well as the income of the local fund for the six months ending 
March, 1911, showed an increase in the aggregate of 938,000 
yen as compared with the taxes collected during the corre- 
sponding period of the previous year. 

Whatever the present pace in the work of amalgamation 
may be, there is, however, an element of history to be reck- 
oned with. For, the long period of separate historical devel- 
opment has differentiated the characteristics, temperament, 
traditions and customs of two peoples. Moreover, centuries 
of misrule in Korea have created a great gulf between the 
intellectual and moral qualities of Koreans and Japanese. 
It is, therefore, only through the agencies of time and history 
that the two peoples can be completely amalgamated. "In 
view of certain differences existing in the manners and cus- 
toms of both peoples," says Mr. Komatsu, chief of the 
bureau for foreign affairs in Chosen, "it would be inexpedient 



japan's annexation of KOREA 295 

to transplant to Chosen en bloc the legislative and adminis- 
trative institutions in vogue in Japan proper." The legisla- 
tive and judicial systems adopted in Chosen are, consequently, 
modelled after those in operation in Formosa. While all the 
ordinary rights and privileges of Japanese citizens are ac- 
corded to Koreans, they are denied the enjoyment of certain 
constitutional and legal rights, as, for instance, the eligibility 
for the franchise, and the privilege of serving as soldiers. 

With the exception of the task of assimilation, which 
was made possible by annexation, other essential points of 
the policy adopted by the government general are either 
the enlargement of the work begun under the residency 
general or its completion. As these points have already 
been explained and exemplified, they need not detain us 
long. Taking a leaf from the history of other successful 
colonial endeavors, great importance is attached to the 
development of the means of communication and transpor- 
tation. For these purposes the diet in the session of 1910 
passed a measure for raising a pubhc loan amounting to 
56,000,000 yen. Of this loan 10,000,000 is to be devoted 
to the improvement of highways, while 37,000,000 is to 
be used for the construction of 174 miles of the Honan Rail- 
way, and 136 miles of the Seoul- Wonsan Railway, both to be 
completed within six years. The Seoul-Fusan and the Seoul- 
New Wiji Railways are also undergoing improvement in 
order to perfect the connecting service with the South Man- 
churian Railway. A plan for the improvement of Fusan, 
Chemulpo, and Chinnampo harbors has also been drawn up, 
at an estimated cost of 8,270,000 yen. At the same time 
postal, telegraphic, and telephone services are being steadily 
improved. 

As to the educational policy, the governor general, in a 
speech delivered before the meeting of the Chosen provincial 
governors on July 1, 1911, said: 

V The guiding principle ought hereafter to be fixed upon the 
motto that through the cultivation of useful knowledge and a 
healthy morality should the Koreans be equipped with the capac- 
ity and character to become worthy of being subjects of the em- 
peror of Japan. In conformity with that principle the machinery 



296 TOYOKICHI lYENAGA 

for primary education should first of all be completed, and at 
the same time prominence given to industrial education, and 
finally provisions made for professional education so that one 
and all might have a respectable career. 

The government general of Chosen has for some time 
been a target for the severe criticisms of the Japanese press 
for its repression of the public voice in Korea. Not only 
have the native papers often been suspended for the crit- 
icisms they ventured upon the government, but even some 
of the Japanese papers have been frequently prohibited 
by the press censor to enter the ports of Korea. There 
was doubtless good cause for the rigid enforcement of the 
press regulations at the time of annexation, when the preser- 
vation of order and peace was of prime necessity; but it 
is at least open to doubt whether the continuation of such 
a repressive measure for any length of time after the an- 
nexation, when quiet reigned in the land, was justifiable. 
The governor general himself has assured the world in many 
of his utterances that ''the spirit of peace and acquiescence 
pervades the entire length and breadth of the peninsula." 
It is to be sincerely wished that the government general 
of Chosen will not turn its back upon the enlightened and 
liberal poUcy of Prince Ito, who, thoroughly conversant 
with the current of thought of the world, and always ready 
to pay due respect to its opinion, had secured its confidence 
and good wishes. 

The annexation of Korea has imposed upon the Japanese 
treasury an extraordinary outlay of 30,000,000 yen, beside 
the need of supplying the annual deficit of the Korean 
exchequer. The Chosen budget for 1910-1911 totalled 
48,740,000 yen in addition to about 7,830,000 yen for army 
expenditure, and 860,000 yen for navy expenditure, alto- 
gether aggregating to 57,420,000 yen. Moreover, 56,000,000 
yen are to be spent as already stated for the undertaking 
of public enterprises in Chosen. These burdens are not 
light upon the Japanese nation. The cost is, however, 
small when we consider that the annexation has forever 
solved the Korean problem and, by ehminating a fruitful 
source of disturbance from the Far East, one more step has 



japan's annexation of koeea 297 

been taken to ensure lasting peace in the Orient. There 
are those who may be incHned to doubt the wisdom of 
Japan in abandoning her invulnerable insular position, and 
entering upon the career of a continental power with all 
the consequent dangers and burdens, but for Japan there 
was no other alternative. She had to face her new respon- 
sibilities and face them with firm determination. The fu- 
ture of the new continental power depends upon the energy, 
the patriotism, and the integrity of the two peoples now 
forever united. 



THE FUTURE OF THE JAPANESE IN HAWAII 

Things Problematic, Things Probable, Things 
Potential 

By Theodore Richards, M .A., Managing Editor of "TheFriend," 

Honolulu 

Brief History 

It was in 1868 that the first shipload of Japanese was 
brought to Hawaii to supply labor for the plantations and a 
large number of this body was subsequently returned so 
that in 1882 there was said to be only fifteen Japanese on 
the plantations in a total number of over 10,000 laborers. 
In 1884 there were nearly 1000 brought on one vessel, includ- 
ing 159 women and 108 children. It was at this time that 
the formal application was made to the Japanese govern- 
ment by the Hawaiian Sugar interest backed by the Hawaiian 
government to supply labor for plantation purposes. The 
agreement entered into gave the Japanese government an 
ample hold upon the Hawaiian government for the care of 
its subjects. An opportunity to make money in a foreign 
country and return with a competency, proved so popular 
in Japan, that 28,000 men applied for passage in the year 
1886. Before 1896 the Japanese government interested itself 
directly in this immigration policy, passing a law in that year 
safeguarding the immigrant and his family in Japan by requir- 
ing a certain surety and then sprang up surety corporations 
which were practically emigrant companies. These have 
been undertaking the whole matter of emigration ever 
since, receiving transportation money from both the Hawai- 
ian planters and from the expectant Japanese laborers as 
well, — due to the competition for opportunities to go. The 
maximum of Japanese on Hawaiian plantations was in 1904 
about 32,000, which constituted about 70 per cent of the 
entire labor on the plantations. This was also about the 

298 



THE FUTURE OF THE JAPANESE IN HAWAII 299 

number in 1908 from which number there has been a fall to 
28,000 in 1910. There has been no assisted immigration from 
Japan since about 1908. 

\ As to total Japanese population in Hawaii at census 
periods it was in 1896,22,000, in 1900, 56,000, in 1910, nearly 
80,000. The discrepancy between these two sets of figures, 
making due allowance for women and children, leaves room 
for a goodly number of Japanese men employed in other 
than plantation work, such as is enumerated in the Bulletin 
of the Bureau of Labor under the head of Agricultural Pur- 
suits, Professional Service, Domestic and Personal Service, 
Trade and Transportation and Manufacturing and Mechan- 
ical Pursuits. 

^ In the matter of sex, there was in the early times a very 
great disparity, but as Dr. Clark has shown in his recent 
report to the Bureau of Labor, conditions are very much 
more nearly normal among the Japanese under twenty-one 
years of age, there being roughly, 55 per cent males and 45 
per cent females the last year, while for the entire Japanese 
population it is still under normal, about seventy males to 
thirty females. This increase in females will account also 
for the very great increase in children during the past decade 
among the Japanese, an increase so great that one-quarter 
of the entire Japanese population is native born and it is 
conservatively estimated that in another census period fully 
one-half of the Japanese population will be native born. As 
the entire adult immigrant class of Japanese came to Hawaii 
in the prime of life, the death rate has been very slight so 
that the natural increase in this one race in ten years was 
nearly 16,000 notwithstanding that at the time of the last 
Governor's report more adult Japanese had left the country 
than had come. 

\ An interesting fact that bears upon the Oriental situation 
on the mainland, is that between the years of 1902 and 1905 
about 19,000 Orientals had left Hawaii for the American 
mainland and this number was very largely Japanese. 
'■ It must be admitted that in general, the effect of planta- 
tion life upon the Japanese in Hawaii has not been beneficial 
to them in matters of morals and manners. Their expecta- 



300 THEODORE RICHARDS 

tion of a speedy return to their own homes has made them 
content with very poor quarters in many cases, and they 
have shown Uttle disposition to improve them even when 
plantation managers would have been willing to assist them. 
It has been a great surprise and shock to their countrymen 
to find how indifferent the laborers on the plantations had 
become to the ordinary amenities of life in marked contrast 
to their former habits in Japan. This was natural enough: 
they were in Hawaii to make money and then to go home 
and enjoy it as speedily as possible. It should be said in 
this connection, however, that efforts originating in the 
Hawaiian Board of Missions have resulted in a greater pride 
in appearances, as shown by the planting of trees and the 
beautifying of rooms and quarters. This movement has 
been cordially seconded by plantation managements. 

The wages of the ordinary laborer have varied somewhat, 
but the present rate is fairly suggestive of what has been the 
ordinary income. On a twenty-six working days basis, 
with a maximum pay of $18 (plus bonus) $15 is the average 
income, considering the fact that very few work the full 
twenty-six days. Disregarding bonuses and contract possi- 
bilities, which offers the chance of earning considerable 
higher than the amount quoted, it constitutes (according 
to Dr. Clark's statistics) about the average income of the 
mass of Japanese laborers. This estimate of average wages 
is thought by competent sugar men to be too low. At any 
rate, it is clear that the laborer's indisposition to work for 
full time, is the only bar to a very material increase of his 
wage. Out of this, it is figured roughly that it costs $7 
for board per month and an exhibit furnished by the ''Higher 
Wage" champions in the case of the late strike showed that 
other expenses brought the total up to about $12.50 for the 
average man, leaving a very small margin for net income. It 
has been shown in the report of the commissioner of labor 
that although the wages have advanced in the last five years 
a m.atter of 11.1 per cent the increase in cost of living has 
also risen 12.9 per cent. 

It is claimed by the friends of the Japanese and generally 
conceded that the calls upon them are many and varied. 



THE rUTURE OF THE JAPANESE IN HAWAII 301 

The support of their own rehgious worship, especially as in 
the case of the Buddhists, as well as the support of schools 
in which Japanese is taught, not to speak of amusements, 
make insistent claims upon the wage earner. 

As to the character of their labor, furnishing as they have 
over 50 per cent of the whole, it must be conceded that they 
have constituted the very back-bone of the plantations and 
a large element in the success of sugar. It is probable that 
a majority of the plantation managers if asked for a com- 
parison would state their preference for the Chinese field 
hand. This is due to the persistence, patience and docility 
of the latter. It is unquestionably true, too, that the sugar 
planters have become apprehensive of the control by one 
nationality of the labor market, particularly as the grow- 
ing consciousness of national as well as local importance is 
noticeable in the Japanese. 

It will be noted, however, that the number of the children 
of school age has increased until they are over 25 per cent 
of the entire number of school children and it is the present 
boast of the board of public instruction that school facilities 
are now furnished at Hawaii for all children who wish an 
education. This includes practically all of the Japanese 
children, who are intensely eager to avail themselves of 
educational facilities. 

As to religious life of the Japanese, they can be said to be 
aJ051iated very largely with the Buddhists. It has been the 
apparent purpose of the Buddhist priests on the Islands to 
make the temples and shrines centers of Japanese national 
thought and sentiment. The principal sects which are rep- 
resented in the Islands have been largely influential in 
building up day-schools where the vernacular is taught. 
There is a strong tendency now among the Japanese to make 
all their schools non-sectarian, toward which policy the 
Christians are lending their increasing influence. Through 
the leadership of three influential American Christian bodies, 
there are powerful centers of Christian activity on all the 
Islands and a number of strong churches. 
\ It will be observed that in the above r4sum6 of things as 
they are, no tables are directly used to support statements. 



302 THEODORE RICHARDS 

The writer, remembering the relation of "statistics" to 
"lies" (in that famous aphorism — 'Hhere are lies, — damn 
lies and statistics") makes his ''statistics" likewise climactic. 
They will be found at the end of this paper. 

"While discussing "things as they are," the very briefest 
comparison of race and labor questions on the coast and in 
the Islands may be in point. Only the most salient and sig- 
nificant points of divergence are here raised. In the first 
place, it is here claimed that the Japanese population in 
Hawaii nearly equals that on the American mainland. As 
to race feeling, there might be said to be almost none in 
Hawaii as against very extreme sensitiveness on the western 
coast. One reason for this lies in the fact that the Japanese 
people in Hawaii came almost exclusively to engage in un- 
skilled labor in which they displaced no American labor. It 
must be admitted, however, that in the last three years, 
skilled American labor has been displaced by Oriental labor, 
though the net number effected has been very much less in 
proportion. (One cannot but feel a pang of natural regret, 
however, at pathetic instances of American skilled labor in 
the cities now no longer able to compete with Oriental rivals, 
largely on account of different scales of living. This feeling 
is quite separated from one's fear that his own turn might 
come next.) The second difference between the conditions 
on the coast and Hawaii lies in the fact that as yet in America 
there has been no time for any appreciable number of chil- 
dren of the "antagonistic races" to grow up together. In 
Hawaii it has been shown beyond peradventure that a dis- 
tinction of caste and race feeling is far less likely to exist 
where there is an intermingling of the children of different 
races. This is our major proposition; and the proudest of 
Hawaii's boasts is that she is the "Melting Pot" of the 
nations. 

Things Problematic 

/ 
As to the future of the Japanese in Hawaii, one can safely 

call a number of things problematic and risk no reputation. 
Many of the brightest men on the Islands have been anx- 
iously considering this Oriental question for years, as well as 



THE FUTURE OF THE JAPANESE IN HAWAII 303 

have statesmen on our own mainland. They but raise 
their shoulders and elevate their eyebrows, as we too are 
doing in this portion of the paper. 

1. What will be their relations to the sugar industry? 
This depends on so many elements that a discussion of 

various contingencies must precede any attempt to answer 
the question. 

2. Will the first generation of labor return to Japan in 
any numbers? 

Judging from the past one would say off-hand, "Why, 
certainly." But when one considers that a return to the 
Islands again is not nearly as easy (if possible at all), as it 
was, you have a question more doubtful. Assuming that 
there will be no further federal legislation concerning immi- 
gration to the mainland and some of these questions would 
be easier. Minus any further legislation, we might assume 
still greater departure on the part of the Japanese to the 
American mainland, where industrial opportunities have 
been most attractive. With legislation, — such for instance 
as is pending, — the door seems shut. 

3. ^ Again, will the Japanese on the plantations strike as 
they did in 1909, developing a highly involved economic 
state on the plantations? 

This, too, seems to depend somewhat on the question of 
further legislation, for it might be argued that if things 
remain as they are, they (the Japanese) have had sufficient 
bitter lesson in their late strike to show them that it is diffi- 
cult for labor to keep up with the tremendous expense of 
the strike against a wealthy and well-organized industry. 
If, however, legislation makes it difficult for new labor from 
Europe or other sources to come, then arises perhaps a 
splendid opportunity for the Japanese to control the labor 
market. 

The Dillingham Bill {Most Problematic) 

\ A Senate bill likely to be passed in some form at the next 
session of Congress is of vital moment to Hawaii and the 
Japanese. It provides for the admission of no immigrants 
save those generally capable of becoming citizens of the 



304 THEODORE RICHARDS 

United States. Among such, it provides for a strict educa- 
tional qualification for all immigrants, but it expressly ex- 
cepts Hawaii. If the bill passes as it is, the present bureau 
of immigration in Hawaii (provided for by the last legisla- 
ture) would be enabled to proceed in its program of bringing 
in immigrants from southern Europe. This would reduce 
the national balance of power of the Japanese labor in Hawaii. 
However, it is doubtful if the bill could pass in its present 
state. Considerable opposition will doubtless develop on 
the ground that Hawaii doesn't need to be removed from the 
provisions applying to other national territory. It is clear 
that if the exception favoring Hawaii is removed and the 
bill passes otherwise, the plantations must look for their 
labor from the sources now at their disposal, it being clearly 
conceded that so-called "white labor" neither could nor 
would compete with the present unskilled labor on the plan- 
tations. That means a very great increase in cost for labor 
up to a point where it might be of doubtful value to run some 
of the plantations on the present system. 

Tariff Legislation {Always Problematic) 

Attention has been recently called by writers on Hawaiian 
affairs to the fact that a large part of the sugar industry 
there is based on the $27 to $34 a ton protection for Hawaiian 
sugars. Should the tariff on Cuban and other foreign sugars 
be removed, it is certain that a number of our plantations 
could not exist at the normal price of sugar. This would 
effect the occupation of a great many of the Japanese and 
their continuance in the Islands may be said to depend 
somewhat on the tariff on sugar. 

A Change in the Political Status of Hawaii (A contingency — 
though perhaps not imminent) 

Some have dreamed that a sort of colonial status is the 
way out of the dilemma. The Star (one of Hawaii's ablest 
journals) in one of its leading editorials argues that in the 
event of the passage of the Dillingham bill, the only way our 
community could subsist, based as it is on the sugar industry, 



THE FUTURE OF THE JAPANESE IN HAWAII 305 

would be by a reduction to a sort of commission government. 
The Advertiser (another able daily) at about the same tinae, 
looking at the probable increase of the Japanese in the 
Islands as a menace to our political future, arrives at the 
same conclusion, which the editor views with apprehension 
rather than a thing to be desired. 

Intermarriage 

Intermarriage between the various races represented in 
Hawaii has been very considerable except between the Jap- 
anese and other races. That has been very rare, but it 
appears to be very much less improbable in the coming days, 
in view of the fact (before referred to) that the race differ- 
ences are very much less among children who have grown up 
together. This is a very fascinating problem upon which 
of course there are no data. Analogous to the possibility 
in this line, however, is the fact that one of the finest race 
blends known is that of the Chinese and Hawaiian, which 
has already reached a very considerable proportion of the 
entire population in Hawaii. The result of this race mixture 
is most strikingly attractive from every point of view. 

The Effect of Our Warlike Preparations {This is prohlematic 
as far as actual war is concerned, but among the "things 
probable" in the realm of unfriendliness) 

\ The immense sums of money that the United States is 
spending in Hawaii ostensibly for defense cannot have any 
but unpleasant effect upon the Japanese population in 
Hawaii as well as in Japan. The menace of this fortifica- 
tion, contemplating in a shadowy way European aggression 
as well as that of Asia, is clearly addressed toward Japan, 
and apart from the sentiment of the situation, it would 
appear to the ''lay" mind as though the expenditure was 
an enormous national waste. In part support of this fact 
it should be said that this expensive outlay is made on terri- 
tory where there are an overwhelmingly greater number of 
Japanese aliens than of United States citizens. The writer 
has recently headed a small brochure on this subject "A 



306 THEODORE RICHARDS 

Million for Defense to Partly Offset the Twenty Millions of 
Offense." In this paper it was his purpose to show that 
extensive systems of forts and mines against Japan would 
be far more effectively replaced by a friendly appeal to them 
on educational and social lines. 

Surely the above are httle else than a bewildering network 
of uncertainties and yet we dare venture into the realm of 

Things Probable 

It must be premised that this most presumptuous part 
of the paper is based on the occurrence of no catastrophic 
changes such as war, or other violent interference with eco- 
nomic conditions. 

It seems probable that the major part of the present Jap- 
anese population will remain in Hawaii. Editor Sheba, 
one of the most influential Japanese in Honolulu, predicts 
that should the Dillingham bill pass, the Japanese will 
return to their own country for patriotic reasons. We feel 
like conceding that a few might, but there is overwhelming 
presumption in favor of the probability that most of them 
will stay. The reasons are mostly economic, — they are: 

a. They have always been able to make more money in 
Hawaii than they could make at home and notwithstanding 
the fact that the cost of living has increased in Hawaii, it 
can be equally said to have increased in Japan. It is a 
matter of general information that poverty among the agri- 
cultural classes in Japan has been extreme, due partly to 
the depressing effect of continued war tax. 

b. The chances for their children are notably better, 
seeing that the common school education lifts them out of 
the probability of field labor. This will be discussed later. 
But even at plantation wages, their children would be better 
off in most cases than in Japan. 

c. They would fear the inability to return if they went 
back to Japan, seeing that the Japanese government is 
jealously guarding its emigration to Hawaii and the rest 
of America, by reason of the happy issue of the late treaty 
between Japan and America. Japan evidently feels it a 



THE FUTURE OF THE JAPANESE IN HAWAII 307 

matter of honor to protect the United States in view of the 
fact that no demands were made on her by the late treaty 
discriminating against Japanese immigration. 

2. Now, too, it seems probable that Japanese children 
will increase even faster than the normal increase of the 
territory. There seems to be difference of opinion on that 
point. Dr. Clark takes this position, of which Governor 
Frear seems somewhat doubtful as is another writer of sta- 
tistics in a daily paper. We feel like agreeing, with Dr. 
Clark, though it must be admitted that the last decade and 
its records shows an increase of children, perhaps largely 
due to the youthfulness of the women who have come to 
Hawaii in the child-bearing period. Then, too, there is the 
fact that the Japanese population has not been depleted as 
rapidly by a high death rate as will ultimately take place 
when they have been long enough in the territory to grow old. 
However, the most significant element in the problem is 
that there is more likelihood of marriage in the future where 
there is so nearly a normal ratio of males to females among 
them as the last census shows. 

3. It is highly probable that the children will qualify 
for citizenship. The fact that the registry of birth certifi- 
cates reached the number of 3475 in one year (1909 and 
1910) is significant. Other figures do not seem to be avail- 
able, but the fact that 13,000 Japanese males are under 
twenty-one years of age and of that number the greater 
part are native born, shows that the Japanese element in 
our population capable of voting will very largely increase. 
This, in face of the fact that at present there are only thir- 
teen registered Japanese voters in a total of fifty-three male 
citizens of voting age. 

4. Concerning their effect on the schools, in view of 
their increasing proportion, it is readily granted that they 
will probably change its "complexion." Here is no color of 
the skin referred to, but we concede that the schools will 
not be "American" in certain senses. For instance, they 
will not be ''American" as the Chicago schools are "American" 
with their tremendous population of Germans, Irish, Swed- 
ish, Pohsh and other Slavs. They will not be "American" 



308 THEODORE RICHARDS 

as the New York schools with the surprising influx of chil- 
dren from southern Europe and the steady increase of the 
Jews. And certainly, they will not be "American" after 
the fashion of the wealthy suburbs of either Boston or New 
York. Some writers, notably the able representative of 
the Bureau of Labor in the Islands, have feared total Orien- 
talizing of the schools. This to our mind seems totally im- 
probable, even were it as fearsome as it appears to be to 
many. 

Reasons in Believing that American Traditions will Persist 
in Our Hawaiian Public Schools 

a. The mixture of other nationalities is so great as to 
offset in part at least, the influence of the Japanese in the 
schools. 

h. There is an intense zeal, amounting almost to a pas- 
sion on the part of the Japanese, to learn the English lan- 
guage. This is probably due largely to commercial reasons, 
but fairly reflects the average Japanese's ambition to excel 
in things that other foreigners excel in. 

c. They are equally ambitious to conform to American 
ways and dress, insomuch that the Kimona is fast disappear- 
ing from the Japanese school child, especially in the cities. 

d. ■ They have been trained in their homeland to a respect 
for American institutions and have been brought up to a genu- 
ine regard for the traditional friendship between the peoples. 

e. \ While intense patriotism to their imperial government 
has existed and will doubtless continue, it is Hkely only to 
be modified by an American loyalty so to make them a 
connecting Unk between the two countries. 

A Labor Probability 

5. It is inconceivable that the next generation will to 
any degree supply the places of their parents (for the women 
have labored with the men in the lighter field work) 
as unskilled labor on the sugar plantations. It is conceded 
(and the proposed bill has brought out many statements 
of the fact) that only illiterate labor can be secured for 



THE FUTURE OF THE JAPANESE IN HAWAII 309 

field work, under the present plantation system — only ignor- 
ant labor will remain at it. In other words, there are chances 
for frugal individuals of any race to do better for themselves 
off the plantations at the present rates. On the assumption 
that it is impossible and undesirable for any part of the 
United States to keep any portion of the population ignor- 
ant, it is clear that ignorant cheap labor is doomed in Hawaii 
as it is doomed everywhere else in the world where enlight- 
enment enters. It is equally clear that the sugar industry 
to endure must eventually reorganize. It is hoped that 
this change may be a gradual one in view of the large claim 
to recognition which the capitalists have in Hawaii, — who 
at large risk and with more than ordinary business skill 
have encountered commercial problems of great magnitude, 
reclaiming large areas of land and tying up large sums of 
money in the sugar business. 

6. It is very probable that there will be much greater 
investment on the part of the Japanese in Island homes. 
Notwithstanding the fact that they pay less taxes than any 
other of the principal nationahties and have the smallest 
deposit in the savings banks — all this must decidedly change. 
Since they have considered this country as a mere temporary 
working place wherein to amass their money (which they 
have always sent back to Japan), the slimness of their local 
deposits is readily accounted for as well also as their very 
slight real estate holdings. 

Things Potential 

^\ Here is undoubtedly the crux of this paper. With a 
desire to present constructive criticism upon possibilities 
of racial blending in the world's most perfect point of con- 
tact, the limits which need be placed upon a spiritualized 
imagination are only those suggested by common sense. It 
must be very clear to anyone who has followed the writer 
in the foregoing pages, that he regards Hawaii as the highly 
privileged leader in the great silent change in the thought 
of mankind which promises to rob the world of its most preg- 
nant source of strife. 



310 THEODORE RICHARDS 

In a keen article in the American Magazine, Ray Stannard 
Baker regards Hawaii as furnishing a spectacle for economic 
investigation concerning labor and lands — and it may be 
he finds it interesting from other points of view as his article 
proceeds in succeeding issues of the magazines. Even 
admitting, for argument, that economic conditions deter- 
mine world policies and international intercourse, yet we 
hold that the most potent influence might be claimed to be 
race prejudice in its effect on past as well as future history. 
We refer in this article to Hawaii as a "mixing-pot of the 
nations." We might as appropriately have called it the 
"Race's Experiment Garden." We have registered the 
hope that the Japanese element in our population may be 
an important Hnk between two races which are conomonly 
thought to be absolutely antagonistic. We believe most 
heartily that there is no necessary and indissoluble bar to 
affiliation and fraternity between the so-called "white" and 
"yellow" race. Despite very able and even passionate 
articles on the part of learned writers to the effect that 
amalgamation or assimilation of the peoples of the two 
races is impossible, we contend that to abandon such a 
hope would mean to throw over the finest aspirations of 
humanity and the strongest claims of religion. 

Speaking of the "white race." What is the "white race?" 
Notwithstanding the very common and fluent use of the 
term, it apparently has no real legal status. It should be 
reaffirmed at this time that the Supreme Court of the United 
States has never made any ruling as to what the "white 
race" may consist of. The United States Circuit Court of 
Massachusetts finds the question most perplexing and it 
would appear that at various times almost every race includ- 
ing the Chinese and Japanese have been referred to as 
"white." Indeed, the decision above referred to in the 
Massachusetts court admits certain Armenians to natural- 
ization, defining the term "white" as including "All persons 
not otherwise classified." It isn't out of the range of prob- 
abihty that with sufficient national pressure, the term 
"white" may be big enough to include the Japanese on ques- 
tions of naturalization as on all other points. Until that 



THE FXJTUKE OF THE JAPANESE IN HAWAII 311 

time comes, however, the whole American continent is 
palpitating between one of two positions. First, and natur- 
ally perhaps, is that of the Western Coast, which is prob- 
ablj'' represented best in that startlingly convincing article 
of Chester H. Rowell of the Fresno Republican, California, 
who sounds this note of warning: 

\ "The Pacific Coast is the frontier of the white man's world, 
the culmination of the western migration, which is the white man's 
whole history. It will remain the frontier so long as we guard it 
as such; no longer." 

In answer to this viewpoint, we ask the question, — "Is 
it physically possible very much longer to so regard this 
western frontier?" The answer seems as evident, — "Only 
at the point of the bayonet." Please God, this barbaric 
barrier need but a little longer be raised anywhere — even 
admitting that we are strong enough to raise it effectually 
in this instance. 

f But why is it desirable to maintain such a barrier by force 
01 arms? It will be immediately conceded that many 
heart-breaking instances of hardship to individuals must 
take place in the merging of peoples and in the changes of 
economic front. But if the "whites" cannot survive in any 
solidarity in this coming merger, why should we attempt the 
impossible? Even to the evolutionist accustomed to draw 
his cold comfort out of the impersonal, dispassionate march 
of events, it must seem idle to put up frail human barriers. 
"Let the best race come and we will meet the shock," — 
might well be his cry, — fairly sure, too, that the change must 
be a gradual one. But to the Christian philosopher the argu- 
ment is plainer. Assuming a program following upon the 
lines of the Christian Book, there is but one ultimate out- 
come, namely, the final triumph of the Prince of Peace. 
^ If we pin our faith to His program, — His program as out- 
lined in the Book upon which He set His seal of approval, — 
the coming fraternity of people completely overlooks their 
race or color or habitat. Ay, this program seems to include 
all of His subjects as none other than "Gentiles" whose rank 
but approximates that of the famous Bible race, alike the 
j^eroes of the past and of the future. 



312 THEODORE RICHARDS 

It is admitted that any talk of fraternity based on mere 
sentimentality, is a poor thing. It will cost us very much in 
Hawaii to prove that such a thing as brotherhood is even 
workable, but postulating the dominance in Hawaii of such 
a sentiment as can be called "Christian," there is reason- 
able hope of teaching the world that race prejudice is no 
better than any other prejudice, — that it may be merely 
meaner and deadlier. The very basis of Christianity de- 
mands the absolute admission of this proposition, — namely 
that humanity was endowed with the capabilities of brother- 
hood. And the Man, who was God, leads the way to its 
consummation and expects the aid of His followers. 

A Few of the Elements Necessary in Bringing 
This to Pass 

1. ' As far as the Japanese are concerned it means first, 
higher wages on the plantations and better houses for the 
present. It is clear that no adequate wage has yet been 
given to labor, even though prices paid for sugar should 
drop very much lower than they have been of late. While 
admitting that plantation managements have made won- 
derful strides in the improvements in the housing of their 
labor, and admitting even that labor is better housed 
and paid than under any similar conditions in the world, 
(which the writer firmly believes) there is yet room for im- 
provement. 

2. There should be opportunity afforded for ownership 
of land in connection with the sugar industry, or, as a partial 
substitute for this — the most desirable status, — profit shar- 
ing. This has been in operation on some of the plantations 
with some success. The laborers have probably failed to 
take up the opportunities offered in this line, fearing the 
ordinary risk of the crop falling short. In general, where 
there is no capital, there is much timidity concerning risks. 

Of course, it is admitted that this change in the status of 
the sugar industry must be gradual, or capital (the proverbial 
goose that lays the golden egg) will suffer. It is neither fair 
nor economically wise that capital should be endangered 



THE FUTURE OF THE JAPANESE IN HAWAII 313 

by sudden and radical changes. No attempt will be made 
in view of the limitations of this paper, to specify details of 
a land, or profit-sharing policy. Our sugar men are well 
able to cope with this problem, when they want to do so. 

3. Another element in bringing about this fusion of 
people will be the educative one. Whereas the territory 
officers have made big efforts to accommodate all the children 
and the claim has been hitherto recorded that all desiring 
school privileges can have them, still it must be frankly 
admitted that the accommodations are very inadequate and 
the appropriations are altogether too small both for school 
buildings and teachers. Certain private schools, notably 
the Mid-Pacific Institute have gone into special efforts to 
meet the need of the ambitious company of Oriental boys 
and girls. They will want more than an ordinary elementary 
school training and they ought to have it. Nay, some of us 
are determined that they will have it, — the best that the 
Islands can afford. And we hope to bind them to us by 
ties of friendship which no shock of war or industrial cata- 
clysm can disturb. Already in a peace movement which is 
known on two continents, five of the brightest students of 
Japan are seated among their Island born brethren, getting 
the best inspiration that American school life can give them. 
It is expected and urged that other attempts of this kind 
will be fostered. 

4. \ In view of what has been said in the foregoing para- 
graphs, not much further comment need be made as to the 
religious possibilities in the Islands. A prominent business 
man of the western coast once said to the writer that he 
didn't know much about missions, but if he were to invest 
money in missionary projects concerning Japan and China, 
he would do it in Hawaii. His point was that when a peo- 
ple have severed themselves from old environment and have 
come to a new country with open minds to see and take in 
the best which that new country can afford, they are in far 
better position to drink in the religious truths which that 
country has to offer. A prominent religious leader is said 
to have exclaimed on the floor of a great assembly, ''If you 
cannot bring the Chinese and Japanese to a personal loyalty 



314 THEODORE RICHARDS 

to the Lord Christ in Hawaii, it is perfectly futile to send 
missionaries to China and Japan. ' ' Ay, the burden upon the 
Christian citizenship of Hawaii is enormous and if it fails, 
which God forbid, its failure is abysmic. The future looks 
bright for a new order of things in Hawaii. 



The data for much of the above historical sketch as well 
as many of the tables that follow come from Bulletins of the 
Bureau of Labor. 



THE FUTURE OF THE JAPANESE IN HAWAII 



315 



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THE FUTURE OF THE JAPANESE IN HAWAII 



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THEODORE RICHARDS 



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THE FUTURE OF THE JAPANESE IN HAWAII 



319 



NUMBER OF TAXPAYERS, ETC., IN HAWAII OF THE PRINCIPAL NATIONAL- 
ITIES FROM WHICH ASSISTED IMMIGRANTS HAVE COMB, 1909 





PBOPERTY TAX 


INCOME TAX 


NATIONALITY 


Number 
of tax- 
payers 


Amount of 
tax 


Assessed 
value of 
property 


Number 
of tax- 
payers 


Amount 
of tax 


Amount 

of annual 

Income 


Portuguese... 

Chinese 

Japanese 


1,794 
2,252 
2,515 


$24,451.41 
33,258.01 
17,481.79 


$2,451,141 
3,325,801 
1,748,179 


139 

168 
134 


$1,473 
1,847 
2,002 


$73,671 
88,532 
97,930 


Total 


6,561 


75,191.21 


7,525,121 


441 


5,322 


260,133 



NUMBER. PER CENT, AND AVERAGE DAILY WAGE OF SKILLED HANDS ON 
A HAWAIIAN SUGAR PLANTATION WHERE CITIZEN LABOR IS BEING 
SUBSTITUTED FOR ORIENTAL IN SKILLED POSITIONS 1908 TO 1910, BY 
RACE 



RACE OF 


1908 


1909 


1910 


SKILLED HANDS 
ON A CERTAIN 
PLANTATION 


Num- 
ber 


Per 

cent 


Average 
dally 
wage 


Num- 
ber 


Per 

cent 


Average 
dally 
wage 


Num- 
ber 


Per 
cent 


Avenigo 
dally 
wage 


Caucasian^ . 
Portuguese . 
Hawaiian. .. 
Chinese .... 


7 
6 
1 


11.11 

9.53 
1.59 


$4.75 
1.65 
2.02 


7 
8 
1 


10.14 

11.60 

1.45 


$4.85 
1.58 
2.02 


7 

17 

6 

6 

28 


10.94 
26.56 
9.375 
9.375 
43.75 


$5.03 
1.44 
1.55 
1 19 


Japanese . . . 


49 


77.77 


1.15 


53 


76.81 


1.13 


1.19 


Total 


63 


100.00 


1.61 


69 


100.00 


1.57 


64 


100.00 


1.71 



1 Except Portuguese. 



NUMBER. PER CENT, AVERAGE DAILY WAGE OF SKILLED HANDS ON 
HAWAIIAN SUGAR PLANTATIONS, ^902, 1905. AND 1910, BY RACE 





1902 


1905 


1910 


RACE OP SKILLED 
HANDS 


Num- 
ber 


Per 
cent 


Average 
dally 
wage 


Num- 
ber 


Per 

cent 


Average 
dally 
wage 


Num- 
ber 


Per 

cent 


Average 
dally 
wage 


Caucasian 

Hawaiian and 
Part Hawaiian 

Portuguese 

Chinese 

Japanese 


1352 

2160 

230 

111 

1,075 


18.3 

8.3 
11.9 

5.8 
55.7 


$4.22 

1.80 
1.69 
1.22 
1.06 


322 
3163 

286 

155 

1,272 


14.6 

7.4 
13.0 

7.1 
57.9 


$4.38 

1.68 
1.61 
1.06 
0.97 


346 
<138 

309 
151 

61,580 


13.7 

5.5 
12.2 

6.0 
62.6 


$3.85 

1.56 
1.49 
1.27 
1.05 


Total 


1,928 


100.0 


1.78 


2,198 


100.0 


1.61 


2,524 


100.0 


1 53 







1 Including 2 West Indian Negroes and 1 New Zealander. 

2 Including 3 Filipinos and 1 South Sea Islander. 
' Including 2 Filipinos. 

* Including 7 Filipinos and I Guam Islander. 
' Including 8 Koreans. 



320 THEODORE RICHARDS 

This table shows that in skilled occupations the proportion of 
orientals has risen and the average rate of wages has fallen during 
the past five years. The latter is contrary to what has occurred in 
other classes of plantation work, as shown in the two preceding tables. 
The increasing employment of Oriental in skilled positions has \ 
not only lowered the average wage of all workers of this class, but I 
also the average wage of each non-Asiatic race considered separ- 
ately. 

A Honomu laborer writes thus, showing his monthly balance 
sheet, which appeared in the Nippu Jiji, December 4, 1908: 

The average number of days worked in a month is 21, taking the 
average of the past eight years. This will give, at the rate of $18 
per month of 26 working days, a sum of $14.60. 

The total average monthly expenditure foots up to $12.50, leav- 
ing only $2.10. 

The items of expenditure are as follows: 

Board $7 .00 

Laundry 75 

Tobacco, paper, and matches 1 .00 

Bath 25 

Rain coat 55 

Rain-coat oil 15 

Oil 15 

Contributions 25 

Shoes and socks 60 

Stamps and stationery 30 

Send-off money, etc 25 

Hat 08 

Hair cutting 25 

Working suits 75 

Total $12 .50 

Net income per month $2 . 10 



THE FUTURE OF THE JAPANESE IN HAWAII 



321 



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322 



THEODORE RICHARDS 



PERCENTAGES OF RACES. PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS 





PERCENTAQE OP 
ENROLLMENT 


RACES 


PERCENTAGE OP 
ENROLLMENT 


RACKS 


Sot 
•— o <u 
Xi^ a 
Sua 


o 


1 

< 


^ a 


o 


1 


Hawaiian 


12.90 
9.97 
1.67 
0.35 
0.61 

13.56 


3.17 
4.34 
2.29 
0.24 
0.40 

4.43 


16.07 

14.31 

3.96 

0.59 

1.01 

17.99 


Japanese 


26.42 
8.87 
1.69 
0.68 
2.14 


2.70 
2.63 
0.16 
0.40 
0.38 


29.12 


Part-Hawaiian. . . 


Chinese 


11.50 


American 

British 


Porto Ri'.'. n 

Korean 


1.85 
1.08 


German 


Others 


2.52 




Total 




Portuguese 


78.86 


21.14 


100.00 







An official report. 



JAPANESE-AMERICAN RELATIONS AS AFFECT- 
ING THE CONTROL OF THE PACIFIC 

By Edwin Maxey, D.C.L., LL.D. Professor of Public Law 
and Diplomacy in the University of Nebraska 

For centuries the great question in the diplomatic world 
has been the balance of power in Europe. The wit of the 
greatest statesmen has been exerted to devise plans for 
retaining it; alliances have been formed upon the basis of 
it; wars have been fought to restore it; considerations of 
race and rehgion have been sacrificed upon its altar; colo- 
nial questions, and, to a large degree, commercial questions 
were considered with reference to their bearing upon it. 
In short, it was the pivot upon which the diplomacy of the 
seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries revolved. 
As a corollary to this, the Atlantic, and the control thereof, 
has been a factor of prime importance in the political and 
commercial life of the powers holding the center of the 
stage during those centuries. 

\But with the close of the nineteenth and the beginning 
of the twentieth century the horizon of world politics 
widens. New forces appear and new characters have come 
upon the stage. The phrase ''balance of power in Europe" 
is no longer an adequate title for the drama of world diplo- 
macy. While the law governing world politics has not 
changed, and everything still gravitates toward the center, 
the center has shifted. The Pacific and not the Atlantic 
is the center of the stage on which the drama of twentieth 
century politics will be played. However imperfectly 
Europe may realize this, it is nevertheless the fact. 

Though the United States, during its early history, has, 
by reason of owing its origin to European settlement, had 
its attention centered on the Atlantic, it early began to 
realize that the Pacific ought not to be neglected. Scarcely 

323 



324 EDWIN MAXEY 

had the war of the Revolution been fought to a successful 
issue before American merchants fitted out vessels to sail 
the Pacific in the direct trade with the Far East. As early 
as 1784, the Empress of China, an American vessel, was ply- 
ing between New York and Canton, China. By 1787, we 
had an American consul, Samuel Shaw, at Canton. In 
writing of our trade relations with China, he says, in a letter 
to Jay, January, 1787: ''On the whole, it must be a satis- 
factory consideration to every American, that his country 
can carry on its commerce with China under advantages, if 
not in many respects superior, yet in all cases equal, to those 
possessed by other people." Within the next two years, the 
Eleanor, the Fair American, the Grace and the Columbia 
had entered into competition for the "infant and lucrative 
China trade." The trade between the American coasts 
and China soon grew in importance and up to 1814 was 
almost entirely carried by American vessels. It was during 
this quarter century that the Americans established com- 
mercial relations with the Marquesas, Charlotte and Sand- 
wich Islands. They had also become active competitors 
in the whale fisheries of the Pacific. 

' By 1812, our interests in the Pacific were of sufficient 
importance to attract governmental attention, and in that 
year. President Madison commissioned Edward Fanning as 
commander of an expedition of discovery and placed at his 
disposal the ships Volunteer and Hope. The war prevented 
the sailing of the expedition. In the same year Captain 
Porter in command of the Essex, the first American warship 
to sail the Pacific, received orders to cruise in the South 
Seas, where he captured two and a half milhon dollars worth 
of British property and 360 British seamen, took posses- 
sion of and fortified Madison Island. 

During this period of activity of American interests on the 
Pacific, the United States purchased Louisiana, and the 
expedition of Lewis and Clarke, backed by the expansionist 
spirit of the American pioneers, had extended our posses- 
sions to the Pacific coast. This acquisition of territory was 
a guarantee that henceforward the United States would be 
one of the powers to whom the control of the Pacific would 



JAPANESE-AMERICAN RELATIONS 325 

be a matter of vital concern — a concern which was intensi- 
fied by the acquisition of Cahfornia and Alaska. How 
far this anxiety to secure territory on the shores of the Paci- 
fic was due to a conscious appreciation of its importance and 
how far to a natural instinct to expand, matters not for 
our present purposes. 

The discovery of gold in California served to advertise 
the importance of our Pacific coast and paved the way for 
an effort to open trade relations with Japan. To quote the 
language of President Fillmore in his letter conveyed to the 
Emperor of Japan by Commodore Perry, ''The United 
States of America reach from ocean to ocean and our terri- 
tory of Oregon and the state of California lie directly oppo- 
site the domain of Your Imperial Majesty. Our steamships 
can go from California to Japan in 18 days. Our great 
state of California produces about sixty million dollars in 
gold every year Japan is also a rich and fer- 
tile country and produces many valuable articles. Your 
Imperial Majesty's subjects are skilled in many of the arts. 
I am desirous that oiu- two countries should trade with 
each other for the benefit of both Japan and the United 
States." 

Upon this basis of mutual benefits the trade and diplo- 
matic relations between the United States and Japan were 
established and upon this basis of reciprocal benefits they 
have always rested. It is entirely within the facts to say 
that from the very beginning our relations have squared 
with the highest standards of ethics. No one who has stud- 
ied the text or the workings of the Townsend Harris treaties 
will say that there is any trace of an attempt to overreach 
or drive a hard bargain at the expense of a less fortunate 
neighbor. The commerce which they provided for between 
the two countries was not disadvantageous to Japan from 
an economic standpoint, nor were the trade relations thus 
estabhshed ever used by the United States as a means for 
securing pohtical control of any portion of the Japanese 
Empire. Instead of attempting to make any part of it a 
sphere of American interests, we have sought to make the 
whole empire a sphere of American ideas. That we have 



326 EDWIN MAXEY 

succeeded measurably in this is attested by the fact that 
everywhere the Japanese are known as the Yankees of the 
Far East. 

But are the friendly relations which have existed thus far 
between the two great powers on the Pacific merely tempor- 
ary, or may we reasonably expect them to be permanent? 
In other words, is there a sufficient basis for an enduring 
friendship between them? Or, is there such a clash of 
interests as to overcome the traditional friendship? 

True, there is not between the United States and Japan, 
as between the United States and England, a community 
of blood, language, and religion. There are not these ties 
to unite the two nations. Yet these are not the only bonds 
by which nations may be held together. While they are by 
no means unimportant, it is entirely within the facts to say 
that they are becoming less important. It is but little over 
a century since the political policies of a State were con- 
trolled very largely by its religious beliefs. If the monarch 
were Catholic, he chose his allies from among Catholic 
countries, and, if Protestant, from among Protestant coun- 
tries. Today England has among its allies: Catholics, 
Buddhists and Mohammedans. The fact that the Sultan 
is the head of the Mohammedan religion has not prevented 
England from championing his cause against Russia. While 
the United States has from the standpoint of religion little 
in common with Russia, China or Japan, it has always 
pursued a policy of friendship toward them, however hostile 
certain of its individual citizens may have been toward the 
religions of those countries. The waning power of the church 
over the state is shown in the triumph of separation in 
France and the majority in the House of Commons in favor 
of disestablishment in England. Except in a few fanatical 
countries, foreign policies are not now determined by reli- 
gious beliefs and there is nothing to indicate a likelihood of a 
change in this respect. 

\ The prejudices due to blood are far less strong than they 
once were and are constantly weakening. The old feeling 
which divided all into Greeks and barbarians has not entirely 
disappeared and probably never will, but like all other prej- 



JAPANESE-AMERICAN RELATIONS 327 

udices and provincialisms it does not flourish in the atmos- 
phere of modern scientific thought. Such prejudices rest 
mainly upon ignorance. Hence, it is fair to suppose that, 
in the future as in the past, improvements in the means of 
transportation and of communicating intelligence will, by 
enabling the peoples of different parts of the world and of 
different races to understand each other better, cause a 
decrease in racial prejudices. 

\.A difference in language is not so great a barrier as it 
once was. The rapid increase in international trade is 
forcing each nation to learn more of the language as well as 
of the customs and industries of the other. The more 
important writings in each language are either translated 
into the others or furnish the inspiration for treatises in the 
others embodying substantially the same ideas. Thus the 
thoughts which determine national and international action 
are to a greater and greater extent becoming the common 
property of all nations, in spite of the differences in language. 
While the lack of these bonds has been growing less 
important, the bond due to a community of interests has 
been growing stronger. Though commercial advantage is 
not the sole factor in determining national policies, it is 
nevertheless an important factor. That friendship between 
the United States and Japan is a decided commercial advan- 
tage to both can readily be concluded from a reference to 
the facts. One of the great facts of recent decades is the 
unprecedented growth in international trade. And nowhere 
has this increase been more marked than in the trade between 
the United States and Japan. According to the Statistical 
Abstract, the value of the exports from the United States 
to Japan in 18§§ was |41,913. From this insignificant sum 
the trade has grown until but forty years later the exports 
are valued at $51,719,183. During the same period the 
value of imports has increased from $285,176 to $51,821,629. 
After allowing for the effect of war, this growth is certainly 
marvelous. Between 1895 and 1905 the exports from the 
United States to Japan increased in value from $4,634,717 
to $51,719,683 and the imports from $23,790,202 to $51,- 
821,629. Thus during a single decade our exports to Japan 



328 EDWIN MAXEY 

increased over 1000 per cent and our imports over 100 per 
cent. Our imports now amount to $70,392,722. 

That this growth has not been due to accident, or a series 
of accidents, will become evident by an inquiry into the 
causes which underly it. The geographical location of the 
countries is such as to make trade between them easy. In 
this respect the United States has a decided advantage over 
the countries of Europe. The route across the Pacific is 
shorter, safer and hence cheaper than the Suez or Cape of 
Good Hope routes. The control of the Pacific route is in 
the hands of the United States, by reason of its possession 
of the coaling stations and ports of call. When this trade 
is developed to the proportions which it must from the nature 
of the case attain, the significance of our possession of the 
string of islands between our coast and that of Asia will be 
appreciated by many who seem as yet to have no conception 
of it. The course of history has been determined largely 
by the possession of trade routes. 

The difference in the commodities produced in the two 
countries is such as to make the United States and Japan 
trade allies, i.e., to make them seek to promote rather than 
to place obstacles in the way of trade with each other. To 
appreciate the truth of this we have but to glance at the 
staple products of the two countries. Japan produces raw 
silk cheaply and though the United States has attempted it, 
the attempts have availed us nothing, except to show that 
either our soil or climate, or both, are not adapted to the 
industry. We are therefore importing about 90 per cent 
of the raw silk exported from Japan and making it into 
fabrics, instead of doing as we once did — purchasing those 
fabrics from Europe, and paying for them with the products 
of our farms. We still pay for them with the products of 
our farms, but it is now simply the raw material that we 
pay for, and give to our own factories the opportunity of 
performing the processes which enhance its value, instead 
of paying for having the same done in European factories. 

Tea is another staple of Japanese production which has 
never been raised profitably in the United States. So far 
as can be seen, American tea will remain a negligible 



JAPANESE-AMERICAN RELATIONS 329 

quantity in the commerce of the world. It is therefore not 
at all surprising that the United States should take three- 
fourths of the tea exported by Japan. 

There are certain classes of works of art which the United 
States imports from Japan. These also are not and for 
a long time will not be produced in the United States. The 
artistic temperament and abilities of a people are something 
which does not change rapidly. The whims of fashion may 
be ephemeral, but the abihty to produce and the desire for 
artistic creations are far more constant. 

As Japan is the available source from which the United 
States secures and will continue to secure the above classes 
of goods, there are certain other classes for the supply of 
which Japan looks and under normal conditions will look 
to the United States. Perhaps the most important of these 
is raw cotton. Cut off the supply of this staple and imme- 
diately one of the great industries of Japan is at a standstill. 
And such is the industrial organization of today that one 
industry cannot suffer without causing a considerable demor- 
alization in all other industries. During the period of hand 
industries the makers of iron would be affected but slightly 
by a shut down among the makers of cloth. Each operative 
depended very largely upon his own capital. But under the 
factory system of today, let one industry be brought sud- 
denly to a standstill and several of the banks that are fur- 
nishing money to manufacturers in that industry and others 
are forced to contract their loans and the stringency is felt 
all along the line. This is the mildest form which it can 
take. Not infrequently the shock causes several banks to 
break and confidence is so shaken that a financial panic 
results, and from the depressing, if not demoralizing, effects 
of financial panics no industry is exempt. 
' This dependence upon the United States of one of the 
great industries of Japan is a stronger guarantee of peace 
between the two nations than most of us appreciate. Japan 
is far too conservative a nation to lightly enter upon a war 
with the United States, knowing as she does that the conse- 
quences of such a war would be a suspension, if not destruc- 
tion, of one of her industries thereby threatening her whole 



330 EDWIN MAXEY 

industrial and financial organization. The danger of such 
losses and privations is too great a risk to run, except in 
self-defense. The mere prospect of enhanced military glory 
is not hkely to appeal to Japan as being a commodity worth 
purchasing at such a price. 

While the dependence of Japan upon the United States is 
less marked in other respects, there are nevertheless a num- 
ber of commodities for which she is to a great degree depend- 
ent upon us. Most of the flour used in Japan is imported 
from the United States. Though there are other countries 
that produce flour, there are none of them that can compete 
successfully with the United States in the Japanese market. 
To be suddenly cut off from the American supply would 
therefore put the Japanese at a disadvantage with respect 
to this one of the necessaries of life. 

What is true of flour is equally true of kerosene. Nearly 
all of the kerosene used in Japan comes from the United 
States. As yet the product of the Russian oil fields does 
not seem to have found its way into the Japanese market. 
This may be due to the fact that the freight rates over the 
Trans-Siberian railway are not sufficiently low to enable 
the Russian shipper to compete with his American rival. 

In locomotives, railway rails, and railway equipment in 
general, the United States is easily first in the list of com- 
petitors for Japanese contracts. This is due in part to our 
greater promptness in filling orders because of our resort 
to standard types and making hundreds according to the 
same pattern instead of waiting until an order is received 
and then drafting the plan according to which the locomo- 
tives, etc., in that order will be made, as is the custom in most 
European shops. Now that Japan has resolved to build 
the railroads which are indispensable to the development of 
Corea and southern Manchuria, her dependence upon the 
United States has in this respect increased very materially. 
Scarcely less pronounced is her dependence upon us for 
meat, structural iron, and machinery. 

Among the marked tendencies of the last century has 
been the increasing influence of commercial considerations 
in determining the foreign policies of nations. Nor is there 



JAPANESE-AMERICAN RELATIONS 331 

any convincing evidence that this tendency has reached its 
height. When we consider this in connection with the com- 
mercial relations of the two countries, we have an excellent 
basis for the conclusion that, in the future as in the past, the 
United States and Japan will continue to cooperate with 
each other instead of foolishly casting aside the mutual 
advantages to be gained from a policy of friendly coopera- 
tion dictated by their geographical location and natural 
resources. 

There is another force which cannot be left out of account, 
and that is the force of traditions. The United States is 
the first of the great nations of modern times with which 
Japan entered into diplomatic relations. From the open- 
ing of Japan by Commodore Perry, to the present day, the 
diplomatic relations of Japan with the United States have 
been of the most friendly character. Japan has never dis- 
trusted the motives of the United States, but on the con- 
trary has always looked to it for friendly advice and guid- 
ance. She has paid us the comphment of sending hundreds 
of her brightest youths to be educated in our institutions, of 
sending commissions to study our industrial organization, 
of celebrating the anniversary of the landing of Commodore 
Perry and erecting a monument to his memory, and of 
bringing to a close at our suggestion a war in which she was 
uniformly victorious. Nor has Japan forgotten that in her 
struggle for fair commercial treatment at the hands of west- 
ern nations and for ridding herself of the hateful handicap 
of consular jurisdiction, she received most valuable assist- 
ance from the United States. The confidence begotten of 
these years of close friendship and helpfulness is not to be 
shaken by the first gust of breezy criticism or by restrictions 
which are economically advantageous to Japan. Tradi- 
tions, however friendly, may not be sufficient to outweigh 
national interests, but when reinforced by them they con- 
stitute a force which is difficult to overcome. They at least 
make it easy to explain away minor differences, and that is 
all that is necessary in order that the friendly relations 
between the United States and Japan may continue to bless 
both nations by enabling them to realize their own possi- 



332 EDWIN MAXEY 

bilities and to exercise a wholesome influence for interna- 
tional peace. 

\ But Japan and the United States are not the only first 
class powers having territory bordering on the Pacific and 
to whom the control of this highway of commerce is a mat- 
ter of importance. In this list we find England, France, 
Germany and Russia. It is therefore fitting that we inquire 
to what extent the dominant position now held by the United 
States and Japan may in the future be challenged by any of 
those powers. And in this inquiry we will not assume the 
role of prophet and attempt to say what distant ages may 
bring forth, but will rather confine ourselves to the more 
practical task of diagnosing the situation with reference to 
the present and reasonably near future. 

A decade ago, the position of Russia as an aspirant for 
power on the Pacific occasioned no small amount of anxiety. 
The situation was not only acute but threatening. Yet 
such is not now the case. The battle of Tsushima has made 
it clear that for a generation at least Russia will not be a 
formidable power on the Pacific. By this it is not meant 
that Russia will be a negligible factor in deciding political 
and commercial questions pertaining to the Pacific, but 
merely that she will not within a generation be in a position 
to dictate the rules of the road or to insist that any consid- 
erable portion of the Pacific be recognized as a sphere of 
Russian interest. To put it in more classic phrase, she will 
not be in a position to insist that all the Pacific shall be 
divided into three parts of which Russia shall have one. 

The German emperor, whose habit it is in great crises to 
voice the aspirations and dictate the policy of his empire, 
has already waived the rights of Germany as a contender for 
supremacy in the Pacific by appropriating for himself the 
title of "Admiral of the Atlantic." But apart from this 
act which furnishes convincing evidence of a spirit of self- 
abnegation so characteristic of the man, Germany is at pres- 
ent too intimately bound up in the meshes of European 
politics to make it wise for her to launch any campaign for 
the annexation of the Pacific. 

France is even less prepared than Germany to jeopardize 



JAPANESE-AMERICAN RELATIONS 333 

her European position for a possible increase of her influence 
in the Orient. For a generation, at least, her energies will 
be needed in developing and consolidating her North African 
empire. The successful completion of the task she has 
undertaken in Africa, which must needs take time, is too 
vital to her position and prestige in Europe to permit of 
her seeking other worlds to conquer. There is therefore no 
reason to apprehend that, within the near future, France 
will be a disturbing factor or will interfere seriously with 
the present equilibrium of forces in the Pacific. 
\England is a far less influential power on the Pacific than 
she was twenty years ago. At that time her commercial 
influence and naval power as well as her prestige in diplo- 
macy were everywhere recognized and gave her the position 
of premier among the powers on the Pacific. But in the 
late eighties and early nineties she began to ask herself 
whether or not this influence was worth as much as it was 
costing and was likely to cost her. In other words she began 
to doubt whether or not "the game was worth the candle." 
By the time this period of doubt ended, her primacy was 
gone. Power rarely survives a period of such masterful 
inactivity. The situation, viewed in the light of the his- 
tory of the past twenty years, warrants the conclusion that 
England has voluntarily withdrawn herself from the list of 
powers contending for the mastery of the Pacific. Nor is 
she hkely to re-enter the lists, the abandonment of her naval 
base at Esquimalt indicates that she does not intend to 
question the supremacy of the United States and Japan. 

I have refrained from mentioning China in this list, be- 
cause although she is a power on the Pacific, she is not a 
first class power, nor is it certain that she ever will be. 
China has not yet passed through that stage in political 
evolution through which every state must pass in order to 
have its status as a first class power assured. The funda- 
mental difficulty in China is that the people of one part do 
not appreciate sufficiently the fact that they have anything 
in common with the people in another part. Without this 
sense of unity, patriotism is impossible, the power to act 
in concert is impossible — and without the power to act in 



334 EDWIN MAXEY 

concert, national achievement is handicapped to such an 
extent that it must suffer by comparison with that of nations 
not so handicapped. If the present revolution brings China 
to a consciousness of itself, wakes the Chinese people and 
gets them to see that they have a community of interests, 
China will become a great factor in world politics and her 
location will make her one of the leading powers on the 
Pacific. But it is not at all probable that China will in the 
near future be able to challenge the position of primacj?" now 
held by Japan and the United States. 

[But can the United States and Japan continue this joint 
tenancy? Can each of these treatyless allies brook equality 
or must there be a clash for the purpose of determining 
which shall yield supremacy to the other? In our judgment, 
such a clash is neither wise nor necessary, nor is it desired 
by either. There is honor enough and room enough for 
both. There is hkewise work enough to enable the energies 
of both to find expression in constructive rather than in de- 
structive operations. The character of work to be done is 
by no means such as to render cooperation disadvantageous. 
Each needs the products of the other's industry and neither 
can afford to spend its substance in crippling the other. 
Viewed from a selfish standpoint, each should rejoice at the 
legitimate success of the other, for in proportion as each 
becomes prosperous, in that proportion is its friendship 
valuable to the other. Japan has need of all her material 
energies in developing her industries, both at home and in 
her possessions, in strengthening the finances of her empire, 
in raising the standard of living of the artisan and laborer 
so as to bring the comforts of life to the home of the toiler. 
The United States likewise can find ample outlet for her 
surplus energies in developing her outljdng possessions, cul- 
tivating the new fields of trade which the Panama Canal 
will be sure to open, and in solving the problems of govern- 
ment raised by the reorganization of her industries, by the 
change from rural to urban life and by the influx of the immi- 
grant. 

The only apples of discord suggested, even by those bent 
upon having a war, are the possession of the Philippines and 



JAPANESE-AMERICAN RELATIONS 335 

the immigration of Japanese laborers into the United States. 
The latter of these has been settled by treaty in a manner 
satisfactory to both parties and the conditions brought about 
by this treaty are such that the question is not likely to be 
reopened. Requiescat in pacem. 

As for the possession of the Philippines, there is nothing 
in it hostile to the interests or aspirations of Japan. Japan 
has never aspired to the acquisition of territory in the tropics. 
What she needs is territory which will furnish an overflow 
ground for her surplus population and territory in the torrid 
zone will not do this. Furthermore, there is but one con- 
dition under which seizure of the Philippines by Japan would 
be of any use to her, and that is the possession by Japan of a 
navy superior to that of the United States. And of this 
the Japanese finances will not permit. Whatever else one 
may think of the Japanese, no one who has studied their 
character at all considers them a visionary people. And 
none but a visionary people would sacrifice their most vital 
interests to chase after a will-o'-the-wisp which could place 
but ^'a, barren sceptre in their grasp." 

In the language of the Jiji, which is the London Times 
of Japan: ''As for our country, she has maintained toward 
America the traditional friendship that is peculiar and apart. 
Our relations have been exceedingly deep rooted." 
■ Alike reassuring are the words of Count Hayashi, the 
leading diplomat of Japan: ''In this world there are those 
who try to raise waves on a flat of ground by noising abroad 
a thing which, as Japanese we cannot even see in our dreams, 
such as a Japanese-American war." As evidence that this 
is a sincere expression of the Japanese mind we would cite 
that, in her treaty of alliance with Great Britain, Japan has 
agreed to a provision excepting the United States from the 
list of nations against whom Japan may invoke the aid of 
her ally in case of war. And although this exception was 
made in contemplation of the ratification of the general 
treaty of arbitration between the United States and Great 
Britain, it is admitted by the leading statesmen of Japan 
that the exception will hold even though ratification fail. 

If, then, the United States possesses nothing which bars 



336 EDWIN MAXEY 

the way to the realization by Japan of her national ideals 
and Japan possesses nothing half so valuable to the United 
States as her good-will, and apparently nothing of which we 
could deprive her except at the price of our self-respect, 
it is manifest that their interests lie in the direction of peace 
rather than war. Nor is there any excuse for allowing other 
nations to artfully stir up discord between them, for which 
work there is no disposition save by one or two. And in 
these cases it requires no pohtical seer to discover the motive. 
Hence to suppose that such transparent deception would 
succeed requires either a sublime ignorance of human nature 
or a sublime distrust of the sanity of nations. 

If the pending treaties between the United States on the 
one hand and England and France on the other are ratified, 
a similar treaty of general arbitration between the United 
States and Japan would have an excellent moral effect and 
all true lovers of peace could well rejoice at its ratification. 
But whether such a treaty is ratified or not, the surest 
guarantee of peace between Japan and the United States is 
that neither nation wants war. Given this condition of 
mind and there are no differences which cannot be harmon- 
ized without an appeal to the sword. It is a guarantee of 
peace regardless of parchments. The utiHty of the Japan- 
ese and American fleets on the Pacific consists therefore not 
in watching with envious eye the growth of each other or the 
progress of the nation to which it belongs, but rather in 
preventing any intruders from disturbing the balance of 
power in the Pacific. 



JAPAN, AMERICA, AND THE CHINESE 
REVOLUTION 

By Frederick McCormick, Special Correspondent, 
Peking, China 

The question of foreign influence upon the Chinese is 
more easily defined in the case of Japan than in that of 
any other outside nation. All through Chinese history, 
art and architecture, since the Middle Ages of Europe, is 
traced and scattered the impression and work of foreign 
men and ideas. From the Nestorians to the Italian legate 
at Pekin, from Friar John and Rubriquis to Marco Paolo; 
from the Italian, Belgian and French missionaries of the 
sixteenth century to the envoys of the powers and the mod- 
ern traders, missionaries, physicians and educators; comes 
a curious patch-work of foreign and western influence curi- 
ously recognized and known by the Chinese. But Japan's 
definite and forcible impression upon China dates only from 
the Boxer war or later and is not ten years old. 

When I first went to China, in 1900, 1 lodged for a time in 
the Provincial College of Chihli, at Paotingfu. I was a 
guest of the chancellor, who had a curiosity to know what 
was the place occupied by the Japanese among the allies in 
China. He said that the college several years previous 
to that time, had a Japanese student who made a very 
good impression by his work in the Chinese classics, but 
that he had been entrusted with 400 taels of the college 
funds, with which to buy printing paper in Japan, had 
taken the money, departed for his native land to make the 
purchase, had never returned, and had neither forwarded 
the paper nor accounted for the money. He was under 
the impression that the Japanese had borrowed their pres- 
tige from their western associates and slipped into China 
under the foreign mantle. Although the so-called Japan- 
China war had intervened, this was a fair sample of the 

337 



338 FREDERICK m'cORMICK 

knowledge possessed among Chinese respecting the Japanese, 
and it may be said that in 1900 Japan was, to the Chinese, 
merely a country that had taken everything from China, 
except modern ideas, and warfare, and given nothing in 
return. 

As beneficiaries of Chinese civilization, the Japanese have 
an intercourse with China extensive in its history. Japan's 
travelers, pilgrims, geographers, warriors and traders, how- 
ever, appear to have left no great impression upon the 
Chinese, and in the light of China's revolutionary present 
situation, may be passed over. China took all too little 
account of the Japan-China war of 1894-1896, and in fact, 
began to realize Japan's importance only through the rep- 
utation which Japan had in the West. Japan's modern 
appearance on the continent of Asia came first in Korea, 
where she made a modern treaty in accordance with west- 
ern practice (her first on her own initiative), in the seven- 
ties. What we call civilized diplomatic relations between 
Japan and China, and the establishment of legations by 
China and Japan in their two capitals, was brought about 
largely by an American missionary. Dr. Davie Bethune 
McCartee. Japan was only established on the mainland 
through events growing out of the conflict of foreign inter- 
ests in Korea; and in Fukien, opposite Formosa, which 
she took from China by the Japan-China war, and it was 
only after 1900 that the Japanese may be said to have fully 
established themselves in all the treaty ports. At the 
end of the first decade of the century, Japanese were in the 
majority among foreigners at every treaty port and treaty 
mart north of Chefoo. At Tien Tsin their colony grew at 
the rate of 200 annually. An interesting exchange of official 
inquiry took place between Russia and Japan in 1910 re- 
specting their subjects in the Chinese treaty marts on the 
Siberian frontier, that shows Japanese colonization to have 
become a political question of considerable acuteness. The 
complications of the Russo-Japanese question led Russia 
to ask Japan why she had sent a consul to Aigun on the 
Amur River. Japan replied that it was because she had 
250 subjects there. She retorted by asking Russia why 



JAPAN, AMERICA, AND THE CHINESE REVOLUTION 339 

Russia had sent a consul to Chientao on the Korean frontier. 
Russia could only reply that it was because she had 4 sub- 
jects there (including the consul). All this is a part of the 
expansion of Japan expressed in various words and phrases 
but best comprehended in the term, Greater Japan. 

> A corresponding apprehension in the Chinese, at Japan's 
expansion in this particular, has been expressed in almost 
innumerable protests on the part of China to Japanese 
expansion in Manchuria after the Russo-Japanese war, and 
in my observation and recollection reached a noteworthy 
stage, when in 1908, China complained of, and was alarmed 
by, Japanese military surveys in the region of the Great 
Wall, and in Mongolia. It was at this time that the gov- 
ernment in Peking began to feel the full force of reform ideas 
among students returning from foreign lands, and in masses 
from Japan, and the late empress-dowager, coincident with 
the question of the education of Chinese in America, under 
the scheme by which America restored her share of the 
Boxer indemnity, stated that China must send fewer young 
men to Japan, because those going to Japan largely became 
revolutionaries. 

^ There are no satisfactory statistics respecting Japanese 
origins in the Chinese revolution, nor any so far as I know, 
that are not misleading. But it will give some idea to 
state that perhaps 20,000 Chinese reformers and students 
have gotten their ideas for revolution in Japan. As dis- 
turbers of the Chinese system and of the central government 
at Peking, they have been to the front in China since 1903, 
when the empress-dowager had one of them, Shen Chin, 
beaten to death with a stave in the imperial prison beside 
the palace gates. They have grown to be the master rev- 
olutionists of China. Their unsuspected power of organ- 
ization if not of agitation, coupled with the support of the 
gentry especially in Hunan, have made China into some- 
thing remarkably new altogether. 

The progressive movement in China embracing both the 
republicans and monarchists is a movement of Chinese en- 
lightened by all western countries, but the facts are that 
the foremost revolutionaries in the rebellion of September 



340 FREDERICK m'CORMICK 

and November, 1911, and in the incidents where force and 
violence leading up to it, have been employed, come from 
the Chinese revolutionary and reform school in Japan. 
I recall a plot by Chinese students returned from Japan to 
assassinate the empress-dowager. It came intimately before 
my observation, because I had occasion to persuade a 
student friend, who had been educated in another land, 
to stay out of this particular conspiracy. Japan's influence 
over the Chinese student has been inevitable, and it is no 
derogation of the Japanese to say that influences developed 
on their shores have manifested themselves in revolution 
on the Asian continent, in political conspiracy, arson, assas- 
sination, murder and other crimes. These are the accompani- 
ments of revolution assignable primarily to the leaven of 
western ideas. Certain chapters in the history of Japan 
on the continent have inspired Japan's critics to attribute 
to her certain responsibilities for this rebellion in China which 
they are doubtless not prepared to prove. There is nothing 
to show that Japanese have in China violated their right 
of sanctuary, as was done in Korea when the Korean queen 
was murdered. The rebellion in China, mainly due to the 
endeavors of reformers and revolutionaries, who had been 
to Japan, and whose organizations for revolution were 
developed there, furnishes records of events in the setting 
up of the so-called Republic of China that are quite clear. 
In Szechuan, the largest and wealthiest province of China 
where the rebellion opened, a large percentage of the mem- 
bers of the provincial assembly were students returned from 
Japan and one of them Pu Tien-chun their leader was pres- 
ident of the Assembly. No other assembly in China was 
more free in its criticisms of the imperial authorities. In 
constitutional matters it had a struggle with the viceroy 
and won. It espoused the grievances and causes of the rev- 
olutionaries in Hunan and Hupeh provinces who executed 
the main revolt at Wuchang, and its leaders organized the 
Anti-Foreign-Loan Society bringing about the first rebel- 
lious outbreak. 

>, Rebellion found its first strong soil in Hunan which had 
long had the name of being the most incorrigible and anti- 



JAPAN, AMERICA, AND THE CHINESE REVOLUTION 341 

foreign province of China, for ten years suspected of con- 
nection with important revolutionary outbreaks of which 
the destruction of a railway carriage by a bomb and wound- 
ing of several high officials at Peking, 1905, and the assassi- 
nation of the Governor of Anhui province in 1907 were most 
noteworthy. Yang Tu a Japan-schooled Hunanese was 
then the leader of the younger or reform party whose agi- 
tation among the Chinese students in Japan (where anarchy 
had already established itself) caused the so-called ''strong 
man of China" Yuan Shih-kai, to offer him office in order 
to arrest his revoluntionary work, or control it. He at- 
tached himself to Yuan Shih-kai only after the rebellion 
was successful. 

Hunan and Hupeh provinces furnish almost the whole 
history of the rise of the rebellion. Their reformers opposed 
the government's policy of central ownership of railways 
and industrial development of China by the employment 
of foreign capital. This opposition held up the famous 
''Hukang Loan" for the building of a trunk line railway 
in three directions out of Hankow. The gentry of Hunan 
who have always been the most powerful of the gentry 
class in China, convinced by the foreign or Japanized young 
men of their province took the responsible headship of this 
opposition and the outbreak of the rebellion, the most 
important rebellion from the foreign standpoint that China 
has ever had, resulted. It is of greater consequence to 
China than the mere change of dynasty and to a degree is 
a monument to the Chinese revolutionaries schooled in 
Japan. 

The place of Japan in China's revolution now and the 
place which Japan will have on the continent of Asia here- 
after, finds its definite, comprehensive explanation in the 
history of the question (since the signing of the Portsmouth 
treaty) of Manchuria, a word in which all discussion of the 
affairs of the nations in Eastern Asia ends. Japan's place 
in the affairs of Eastern Asia must be immense, as all can 
conceive. What is it? 

^I have already called attention to the fact that rebellion 
broke out in the industrial region that is the center of 



342 FREDERICK m'cORMICK 

foreign European and American loan operations due to 
revolutionaries largely of the Japanese school. Japan 
is not a capitalistic nation but a military one that leans 
upon opportunity. Her field since the Russo-Japanese 
war has been that of chance and fortunate opportunity out 
of which she has made empire. And now revolution has 
favored her policy and interests in this particular that rebel- 
lion has come in the center of the interests of the capitalistic 
powers, her antagonists, disconcerting them and absorbing 
their attention, while she is free with her right of military paci- 
fication in her own sphere in China to protect and promote 
her own interests and policies. I believe these have never 
been fairly nor with any degree of accuracy or completeness 
defined. They are as follows: 

Two great railways traverse Manchuria, one the whole 
distance east and west, the other nearly the whole length 
north and south, both together forming a matrix and con- 
veying Russian and Japanese territorial sovereignty to all 
Manchuria's vital parts. When the Portsmouth treaty 
was signed in New Hampshire, it became the immediate 
business of Japan and Russia, between whom these railways 
were divided, to keep apart. With their usual alertness 
the Japanese were foremost in this problem. Before Ko- 
mura left the United States for Japan, Marquis Ito jumped 
to the solution of this problem by giving Edward H. Har- 
riman, the American financier and promoter, a tentative 
agreement for lease to American financiers of Japan's rail- 
way in Manchuria, taken from Russia. This would have 
placed America between Russia and Japan. It would 
have solved, in a manner, the question of non -entanglement 
with Russia, so far as Japan was concerned. Ito believed 
Japan could not hold her Manchurian territories; he thought 
Japan was moving beyond her depth. 

Immediately after the exchange of this tentative agree- 
ment, Komura arrived in Tokio and from thence date 
two Japans, the passing one that of Ito, the other that of 
Komura. Komura said Japan must expand on the con- 
tinent in China, and this expansion had sufficient political 
basis only in the rights which Japan had acquired from 



JAPAN, AMERICA, AND THE CHINESE REVOLUTION 343 

Russia by coming into possession of a share of her railways 
in Manchuria. Japan could not turn her railway over 
to others, she must cling to all she had acquired in order to 
share all the rights and advantages enjoyed by Russia; 
Russia must be supported and made to cling to all she held 
and had claimed in Manchuria, and on the Chinese frontier, 
so as to give a basis for Japan's continental expansion. 
Japan thereupon abandoned the Ito-Harriman agreement 
and found in her Manchurian railway a tie and not a breach 
with Russia. The reasons are as follows: 

In the hour of Komura's diplomatic defeat at Portsmouth 
respecting a war indemnity, which the people of Japan 
demanded as a condition of peace, he secured the insertion 
in the secret minutes of the Peace treaty, the obligation, 
on the part of Russia (as a part of the transfer of the rail- 
way) to communicate to Japan upon ratification of the 
treaty, all agreements which she had with China, respecting 
Manchuria. When the transfer of these agreements took 
place, it was found that the contract for the construction 
of the Chinese Eastern Railway, signed in 1896, contained 
a clause known as ''Article VI" which gave to Russia the 
sole and exclusive right of administration in the railway 
zone. Komura saw, as well as did a majority of the emper- 
or's advisers, that if this article could be appropriated for 
effect on the Japanese railways, and recognized by Russia, 
it was in effect a division of sovereignty among China, Rus- 
sia, and Japan, in Manchuria. This fact, joined to the 
fact that Russia's special frontier trade rights were capable 
of similar extension so as to benefit Japan, gave to Japan 
her present ''Plan of State" upon which Greater Japan 
rests. Japan now had new statesmen who saw that Russia 
and Japan possessed and could maintain a special position 
in northern China, perhaps in spite of all opposition. Japan's 
problem now was to bring about a written tie between 
Russia and Japan as against a separation which the ideas 
and policy of Ito involved. Japan passed, in her policy, 
to the Komura or so-called Katsura or war party, which 
was, in fact, nothing more than a Greater Japan party, 
whose program necessitated peace. 



344 FREDERICK m'cORMICK 

"^ It took four years for Komura to bring about an entente 
and agreement with Russia which, after many vicissitudes, 
was obtained July 4, 1910, when Japan's aim was secured 
by a compact to maintain the status quo in Manchuria, 
which no power has yet essayed directly to disturb. The 
story of this four years is one of diplomatic pursuit of Rus- 
sia by Japan, and is one of the most curiously interesting 
in the annals of diplomacy. Its details are too numerous 
to give here. Suffice to say that Russia evaded Japan's 
pursuit until forced by circumstances to accept the terms 
of the situation as viewed by Japan. There is one aspect 
of this, in the main subterrannean, struggle between Japan 
and Russia which deserves to be noted here. Russia learned 
of the Ito-Harriman agreement, and essayed to imitate 
Ito's success in getting American finance into Manchuria. 
She offered her own railway in Wall Street, and failed at 
much expense to her pride. Russia's evasion of Japan 
in this issue was due to fear of the consequences of the Jap- 
anese invasion of northern Manchuria, and her diplomatic 
action showed that she was sparring for time. 

It was not long before Japan then discovered Russia's 
intentions respecting the Russian railway in Manchuria, 
which clearly were in effect the annulment of ''Article VI" 
by transfer of her railway to a country that would interpret 
its provisions favorable to Chinese sovereignty, thus pre- 
venting any wholesale exercise of Japanese sovereignty 
in Manchuria, and the wholesale extension of Japanese 
settlement there. The success of Russia's intention was 
the greatest blow which Russia could direct at Japan's 
''Plan of State." In consequence Japan did everything 
to prevent it. In 1908, after repeated failures to open 
negotiations with Russia on the subject, Japan sent Baron 
Goto to St. Petersburg, and another officer to Harbin, 
with a view to opening negotiations. Russia refused to 
be engaged. Japan tried in 1909, through her ambassador, 
Motono, to bring the matter up again at St. Petersburg 
and failed. Russia's situation from that point on was one 
of acute embarrassment. Japan invoked the complicated 
and almost omniscient weapons of the doctrine of equat 



JAPAN, AMERICA, AND THE CHINESE REVOLUTION 345 

rights against Russia, and succeeded in pushing Japanese 
commerce and communications to the Amur River by way 
of its Manchurian tributaries. Russia was literally forced 
along by Japan. At the same time, Russia employed every 
means to dispose of her railway, and what Russia would 
do in this respect was in 1908-09 a burning question in 
Tokio. Fearful that Russia would give up the principle 
of administration in the railway zone, which, at that time, 
became an issue with all the powers, Japan sent Marquis 
Ito to Russian Manchuria to meet the Russian minister 
of finance, Kokovtseff (later the Russian premier). This 
is a strange story. Ito was assassinated before he had intro- 
duced at Harbin the object of his mission. Ito was opposed 
to expansion until Japan could recuperate from the effects 
of the war with Russia. Almost to the last as is well known 
he denied that Japan would annex Korea, believing that 
his advice and that of his associates, would prevail with 
the emperor. He was now a changed statesman. Japan 
had a new spirit, and he was on an errand for his late oppo- 
nents. This is the great story of Ito's last days and of his 
assassination. He became a martyr. It was strangely 
fitting, strange as life itself, that he should, after being 
defeated in his own plan of state, lend a hand to that of his 
political adversaries and lose his life in behalf of their 
policies. 

Ito's death saved Russia from one more embarrassment, 
and events followed that further delayed the inevitable 
rapprochement and Compact with Japan. America was 
observing this drama, and, unable to promote singly the 
policies of these two contending powers, devised a plan to 
meet general necessities in Manchuria; not only of China 
and Russia, but of what she considered the best interests 
of Japan. This was the famous ''neutralization proposal." 
The goverment at Washington proposed the purchase and 
neutralization of both the Japanese and Russian railways, 
by the powers. This proposal forced Russia to face the 
issue of a division of sovereignty in Manchuria, which was 
now so complicated by the formal representations and 
opposition of the United States, Great Britain, France and 



346 



FKEDERICK m'cORMICK 



Germany that Russia was isolated, and seeing no friendly 
hand held out to her but that of Japan, she accepted it. 
Fearing the consequences of abandoning ''Ai'ticle VI," 
and expecting more from its permanency under the Japan- 
ese, she signed with Japan, on July 4, 1910, as already stated, 
an agreement to maintain it and Japan thus established 
what she had set out to estabhsh, the corner-stone of her 
empire in China. 

' Much paper has been written over by Japan and all the 
great European powers, setting up the principle of equal 
rights and the territorial integrity and sovereignty of China. 
It has been often said that these papers, called alliances 
and treaties, are the guarantee of these principles. But 
that is not the case. These papers so extensively written 
over are in a state of progressive cancellation and have 
become so contradictory that governments like our own 
now depend upon a reiteration of statement in the form of 
communiques, interpretations and other exchanges of cor- 
respondence after the drawing up of each new ''entente," 
"agreement" or ''convention," to determine where the parties 
to these numerous written papers stand on the questions of 
equal right and Chinese integrity and sovereignty. And 
the great fact brought out by the revolution is a special 
position which Japan has made for herself, both territori- 
ally and diplomatically, within the borders of the Chinese 
Empire. 

Previous to 1909 the United States government was so 
negligent of eastern Asia that it was not in possession of 
the facts. It was so far behind the situation that it had 
to employ heroic means in behalf of its great principles 
there. "Article VI" had been exchanged by Russia to 
Japan at Portsmouth under its nose. When the govern- 
ment at Washington in 1909 started in to rebuild the "open 
door" structure of John Hay it didn't have that now fam- 
ous article. It was only when it pressed Russia on the 
question of administration at Harbin in Manchuria where 
Russia had created a local Russian government on Chinese 
soil, that Russia gave to America that article. That was 
in 1909-1910, thirteen years after it was written. America 



JAPAN, AMERICA, AND THE CHINESE REVOLUTION 347 

then put forward the ''neutrahzation proposal" — a very 
great measure which it was better that it made and lost 
than that it should never have made. 

These things altogether are the anatomy of the war scare 
in the Pacific and that almost entirely are the causes of the 
peace movement in its present aspect. A proper under- 
standing of these things which to the general reader appear 
more technical than physical nevertheless are more impor- 
tant than any propaganda such as the peace movement for 
obviating war in the Pacific because familiarity with physi- 
cal and diplomatic geography in eastern Asia will give con- 
fidence while peace propaganda is an opiate that will bring 
terror when the actual trial between facts occurs. Peace 
or war is neither here nor there. The idea that Americans 
know the things with which they deal and can settle them 
is an infinitely greater idea than the idea of peace. 

\The great bulking of Japan in the forefront of the Chinese 
revolution, in its various roles and aspects, has led to a 
lot of thinking on the part of the western powers and not- 
ably of the United States government. And it is not to 
be marveled at that Japan's enemies have attributed to 
her the precipitation of rebellion in China, and aggressive 
aims and intentions. This subject is one in which time 
must have way, for few serious students of such great 
affairs would venture now to speculate upon it. I only 
wish to say that, to anyone acquainted with the nature 
of the machinery of a nation's expansion, and especially 
of the nature of the machinery of Japanese expansion which 
her statesmen themselves cannot control, the situation has 
almost every possibility. Japan must be, and I take it 
for granted that she is, leagues ahead of other nations in 
appreciation of, and interest in, the Chinese revolution 
and its responsibilities and opportunities. She has set 
firmly up the principle of a division of sovereignty in the 
Chinese Empire. With fine contempt she went to war 
to demolish it when it was merely a Russian assumption. 
She then set it up again not as a Japanese assumption, or 
a Russian-Japanese assumption, but by a Russo-Japanese 
compact contained in a preliminary exchange of notes and 



348 FREDERICK m'cORMICK 

in a formal convention. Any Japanese may well pause 
at his country's responsibilities on the Asian continent and 
the possibilities to which it is heir and to which it is bound. 
The subject is one of great magnitude, and I have reached 
the limits in the discussion which I have intended. If it 
seems necessary in order to dispose of the subject to show 
the latest phase of its concern to us as Americans, I would 
say that now, when all issues between nations in Eastern 
Asia appear to have been thrown into the melting pot, Amer- 
ica has been placed in a splendid position in China by the 
able diplomacy and enterprise of its government. Singular as 
it may seem the two countries of the United States and Japan 
at the opening of the revolutionary change in that ancient 
nation, aside from the special interests of Japan in China, 
actually occupy a common platform and position in eastern 
Asia respecting China's struggle to restore order and unity. 
It is because of the necessity of peace to Japan. There is 
in the situation resulting from this necessity the possibil- 
ity at least for some time of a closer understanding and 
relation between the United States and Japan respecting 
China, certainly so if one or more outside powers do not 
precipitate mihtary occupation of some part of China and 
Japan remains content to allow her continental interests 
to be developed by the natural course of events. 






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